


A Cheshire Cat

by Lost_Girl_02



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Green Arrow and Black Canary are a Power Couple of DC, League of Assassins brainwashing, Season 3 AU, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Sin is Cheshire, Technically Cheshroy, because cheshroy is life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-07-23 22:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16168502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_Girl_02/pseuds/Lost_Girl_02
Summary: After Sara Lance is killed, her protege, Sin, is thrown into a tailspin. When a man shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her uncle--someone who had abandoned her nearly ten years ago--she doesn't know how to react. And more importantly, she doesn't know what to do about his dangerous offer that just might be her saving grace. And in terms of saving graces...what is it about Roy Harper (of all people!) that keeps her from the brink?





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> So this was written a while ago, and I've decided to finally post it here! Everything is already written so although there are 14 chapters, there will be a fairly regular posting schedule.
> 
> This takes place during Season 3, technically, but it really diverges after Sara dies.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Sara Lance is dead."

The dark-haired girl staggered back from the door, one hand running through her short, tom-boyish styled hair, the other searching the air in front of her, as if by doing so she could somehow bring her friend back. Her mouth opened and closed several times before the lump in her throat shifted enough for her to whisper, "What?"

"I'm sorry, Sin," Roy Harper said, his light blue eyes full of sadness and thinly-veiled pity. He took her hand, guiding her towards a tattered couch as if she was a small child and not a street-hardened young woman in her twenties.

"Who did it? Who killed her?" Her voice hardening, but tears started to well up in her dark eyes.

"I--we don't know," Roy said, glancing down at his hands. "We're looking for anything at this point, but..." He trailed off as the tough girl broke down into a surprising round of tears. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her against him and she clutched the material of his hoodie like they were her life preserver. "We all lost someone important that night."

She nodded, her head still buried in his shoulder. "I know," Sin took a deep breath, steadying her voice and wiping tears from her eyes. "I know we all did. It's just--strange, you know? I'm going to wake up tomorrow and Sara's not going to be there. I'm just not sure what that's going to be like...but it's going to hurt for a while."

Her friend nodded silently, not going to deny her the pain she was feeling by filling her ears with empty chatter.

A sharp buzzing sound cut through the emotion-laden silence.

"I think that's mine," Sin acquiesced, extricating herself from Roy's hold, her face burning as it dawned on her how close they had been sitting.  _God_ , she shook her head as she checked her phone's messages.  _I was practically cuddling with Abercrombie!_

"What's wrong?" Roy's voice was laced with concern, but his face was red as he must have come to the same conclusion Sin had come to only moments earlier.

"Nothing," she said with a sigh, and pocketing her phone. "I just have to go, okay?"

He nodded, but didn't look completely convinced that she was stable, emotionally or physically.

"I'm not a doll, Roy," she huffed, crossing her arms. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I have lived in the Glades for my whole life, remember?"

"Yeah, but so have I and this city is--"

"A little safer now that you go gallivanting in a hood each night, Abercrombie," Sin interrupted with a wan smile. "Just don't wait up."

She quickly left her apartment, trusting Roy to lock up if he left, and started jogging down the many flights of stairs from her fourth-floor apartment. Shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her leather jacket, Sin pushed her way out into the cold night air. Her mind drifted to the text she had received minutes earlier and its threatening message:  _Abandoned warehouse on L Street. Your secret's out_.

The walk tot the warehouse only took a few minutes, giving Sin next to no time to prepare for String's interrogation. He had a nasty habit of running a white-hot iron rod through his still-alive victims, like a thread through a needle. Sin shuddered involuntarily at the thought that being a human pincushion might be her fate, before pushing open the warehouse door and walking confidently towards the mob boss.

"Well," String said in an accented voice, spreading his arms wide in mock-welcoming. She never could quite place where the imposing man was from. "If it isn't Little Miss Street Brat."

"As long as I'm not Little Miss Sunshine," Sin quipped, her tone belying the nervousness in her gut. Normally she would just take the small digs to let Sting believe he was in charge, but she was itching for a fight.

"I wouldn't be so lippy,  _Sin_. I don't like it when people talk back to me."

"And I don't like it when people talk down to me," she retorted angrily. "So, I guess we both aren't getting what we want."

"On the contrary," Sting said smoothly, picking up a heavy iron pipe. "You are going to tell me where, exactly where, you stashed the smuggled supplies."

"Oh right," Sin scoffed, fear beginning to seep through her facade. She had been sent to help guide String's team to the docks, where they unloaded some boxes from a cargo ship. She had convinced the rest of the team, with a little persuasion from a certain hooded vigilante, that they should just dump the drugs in the ocean. "I was supposed to deliver those to you. Guess it slipped my mind."

Without warning, String swung the pipe, its end clipping her stomach and knocking the breath out of her. As she was doubled over, he swung an uppercut at her chin with his massive fist. The blow knocked her head back, she felt blood filling her mouth as she bit her lip and felt the beginnings of an angry bruise that would cover the entire left side of her face. String gave her one last powerful kick to the shins that knocked her to the ground in a bloody, groaning heap.

"I won't kill you," String panted, a sadistic grin on his wide face, his muscles rippling in apparent excitement as he flexed for show. "I need those supplies, and you're the last person alive who saw where they went."

"Alive?" Sin croaked, spitting blood out of her mouth, making her words garbled.

"Yes, I killed all your little accomplices and the Arrow can't keep out of reach forever. I know you've worked with him before, and  _I_ will be the one to bring that team down one day."

"H-How...?"

"You can't keep secrets forever, little girl. And enough of this drivel, unless--of course--you're ready to divulge the location of my supplies."

"Take your best shot," Sin spat.  _There's nothing more you can do to hurt me._

* * *

Sin limped back to her decrepit apartment hours after her confrontation with String. She felt like her entire body was on fire and was ready to melt from the inside out. Her favorite leather jacket was crusted with blood and one of her combat boots had been so ripped and destroyed, that she had thrown it away, an action she was swiftly regretting as she unevenly climbed the icy stairs to her apartment.

Her hands were shaking so badly, it took her three tries to unlock the door. The barely two-room apartment was silent, and Roy had obviously left a long time ago, leaving only a brief note that read,  _I hope you're okay and I need to meet up with you tomorrow. Roy_.

_Let's just hope he isn't going out as Arsenal tonight_ , she thought, folding the slim piece of paper and slipping it into her pocket. Sin gently lowered herself to her bed--really just a rickety cot--in the corner.  _If String knows I help the Arrow, then he's got to know about Arsenal, and if he's trying to take down the vigilante..._

She refused to even think whatever thoughts that crept up at the edges of her consciousness, regarding her outlaw friends.

Sin allowed herself to close her eyes and forget the day's horrors and to fall into a troubled, if dreamless, sleep.

* * *

Roy Harper paced outside Sin's apartment building for hours, trying not to seem like a stalker. But he was anxious to talk to his friend and make sure she was still in one piece--he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but that didn't account for the fear he had seen in her face last night. He was about to break into the building when he finally spotted a familiar patch of dark hair emerging from a side entrance. He quickly rolled down his sleeves and moved away from the window he was about to "unlock" to get into the building.

"Sin!" He dashed over to her, practically shoving people out of his way and calling her name.

"Hey, Abercrombie," she gave him a quick hug, but turned away the second he released her and might have been able to see her.

"Sin," his voice became quieter as he pulled her into the building's shadow, "what happened last night? Can you look at me, please?"

She slowly turned to face Roy, a black and purple bruise contrasting harshly with her pale skin and her dark eyes betraying none of her emotions.

"Damn, Sin," Roy cursed tensely, unconsciously reaching out a hand to cup her bruised cheek. "This happened last night? Where did you have to go?"  _I knew I should have waited for her_ , he thought, gritting his teeth at his own poor judgement skills. "Who did this to you?"

"It's no big deal," Sin snapped, yanking her head away from Roy's outstretched hands. "I can handle this, okay?"

"No, it's not okay Cindy," he shot back, ignoring her wince as he used her real name. "Maybe...you-know-who could help."

"I don't need the  _Arrow_ to help," she practically shouted, before realizing that they were still in a somewhat-public place. And as he studied her face, he could see the defiant look behind her eyes. "I'm fine, okay? See you around."

Roy tried to follow her as she slipped through the crowds, but growing up on the streets had done her well and soon she had disappeared. He cursed under his breath and was ready to pull out his hair by the fistful.  _Why does she have to be so stubborn_ _?_

He trudged back the way he had come, and before he knew it, he was walking down Verdant's back stairs and into the team's "mission control."

"What's up Roy?" Felicity chirped, her perky side had thankfully reemerged when she had started dating one of the lab techs at Queen Consolidated.

"Do you think it was a good idea to tell Sin about Sara's death?" He blurted out, surprising the bespectacled blonde.

She leaned back in her chair, furrowing her brow. "Why do you ask? I mean, don't you think she deserved to know?"

"I mean, of course she deserved to know," Roy sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against the door-frame. "I'm just worried that she's going to become reckless and get herself killed. I mean, you should have seen what happened to her last night!" His voice had steadily risen to a nervous shout.

"Is she okay--I mean, she's probably not  _that_ okay, her friend just died. But you have to remember Roy, she can take care of herself." Felicity got up and put a hand on his tense arms, a concerned look on her face. It was so unlike the youngest member of the team to get this wound up.

"I know. But I just...wish there was something I could do. She's helped us so many times before; I just want to repay the favor," Roy said, staring at the case that held his Arsenal suit.

Felicity followed his gaze and shook her head. "Sin wouldn't want some vigilante following her around everywhere, she just needs to know that her  _friend_ is there for her."

Roy sighed, but a smirk came over his face. "When did you get so insightful, Felicity?"

"My mother said I was born with it," Felicity laughed, but her face quickly fell as Oliver Queen and Diggle walked in, their faces grim.

"Roy, suit up--there's a lead on a new gang of smugglers. They've committed at leas ten murders for insurance that the crimes can't be tracked back to the leaders. The boss of this organization goes by String," Oliver laid out the basics of the why and how they were taking down the group. The whole team, except for Laurel who was recovering from a head injury, went into autopilot as they go ready for patrol.

Roy snorted, a broad smirk revealing his dimples as he, Diggle, and Oliver started driving away from the club. "What kind of alias is  _String_?"


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sin has to deal with the prolonged ramifications of Sara's death, and gets a surprising offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter came out earlier than usual, but I also don't have a regular updating schedule yet.
> 
> Just a warning: this chapter does include some reference/threat to sexual assault, so if this is something that you are not comfortable reading (for whatever, valid, reasons) just skip the first section.
> 
> Enjoy!

Three months after Sin found out her friend, her sister really, was killed, she walked down the abandoned streets of Starling City, her eyes darting around as they took in her surroundings. She was searching for the thugs and gangs that roamed the city late at night.

Her reckless grief of the past few months had turned into a burning anger that slowly ate away at a little part of herself each day. Her mood cycled through flashes of all-consuming hate that prompted her to use any resources she still had access to, to try and find Sara's killer. Unfortunately, when that adrenaline wore off, Sin plunged herself into a long-lasting depression. Suffice to say, her moody tendencies had angered many criminal organizations who relied on her level-headed underground know-how, and she had paid for her unreliable behavior many times over in the past few months.

As her mind wandered, so did her feet, and she found herself wandering into an alley that was darker than most. Wedged between two buildings, there was barely enough room for three people to walk side-by-side.

That narrowness became all the more concerning when five shadowy figures emerged, and they started walking towards her. She clenched her fists inside the pockets of her leather jacket, and her eyes darted from figure to figure.

"You lost, sweetie?" A deep male voice leered, the kind words overlaid with a thick layer of menace. He towered over her, and his broad shoulders filled her vision, almost completely blocking the exit. "Got any money to pay the toll?" He asked, his faced twisting into a disturbing smile.

Sin opened her jacket as if to say,  _Does it look like I have cash to spare?_ "Sorry boys, I don't have any money one me. You know how it is, right?" She kept her voice steady and continued to walk past the men.

The leader jerked his head to the side and the remaining four men split into pairs and made their way over to the mouths of the alley. Sin's heart began to race and her stomach rose up into her throat, but on the outside, the only clue anyone would have to her distress was a slight widening of her eyes.

She started to pick up the pace, walking swiftly to the alley's sides, thinking she could potentially scramble through a window to safety. Before she had made it ten paces, the leader had caught up to her, roughly shoving her against the building. Sin winced as her already sore back came into contact with the brick, but she refused to cry out. Her arms shot out in an attempt to hit the man, but he ducked under her attack and kneed her in the stomach.

Sin doubled over, gasping for air, but she quickly straightened up when she realized that her loose tank top had slipped down, and the leader was currently staring down her shirt.

"Maybe you could pay in other ways..." he said, shifting his grasp so he had both of her arms above her head in one hand, and the other was pressed against her belt and was working on undoing it.

Her mind flashed back to the night of the Undertaking and how Sara had managed to save her that terrifying night from a frighteningly similar situation. Sin bit her tongue, kicking out her legs and her combat boots connected with the man's shins, but she didn't have enough strength to do any harm.

He grunted in mild discomfort, but that turned into a lecherous smile as he finally pulled her belt free.

Sin jerked her body to the side as his hand reached for her chest, finally allowing a small cry to escape her lips. The man's face twisted into a horrifying smile as he tore the entire front of her tank top open. His grip loosened for the briefest of moments and she yanked her arms free, and started sprinting for the main street.

"Why don't you  _play nice_?" He growled, looping an arm around her waist and flinging her to the ground.

Sin felt the loose gravel of the ground scrape against her back, underneath her tank top. She tried to scramble away, her whole mind shutting down except for her  _fight or flight_ instincts. Sin cried out again as he dropped on top of her, his legs on either side of of her waist, and when she fought against his rough grip, he punched her square in the jaw, splitting her lip.

"I guess we're doing this the  _other_ way," he hissed, punching her cheek again.

 _Could you be any more cliche?_ Sin thought sarcastically as he kneed her stomach again, using both hands to grip her by the hair and slam her head against the street. A warm liquid ran from her scalp, into her ear, and down her face, obscuring her vision. She squinted through the bloody red haze, trying to move out from under her attacker and fighting to stay conscious.

She felt the other four men join in pummeling her, and she let out a high-pitched scream as she felt her ribs crack, the pain making her mind slip further and further away. Exhausted, Sin let her head fall backwards, thudding against the ground, but before she surrendered herself to unconsciousness, she felt the pressure lift from her body and the hits stop. Sin tried to focus on who had intervened,  _Sara?_ she thought weakly.

But it couldn't have been the Canary because she saw a figure covered in red punch the leader in the jaw, right before she finally passed out.

* * *

As his fist connected with the lead thug's jawline, Roy tried not to smile. It felt good to let his frustration out on the man who clearly deserved it after what he had seen what him and his friends did to Sin. He made quick work of the other four men, the adrenaline racing through his veins making him nearly untouchable.

Despite Felicity's advice, he had started trailing Sin at night for the past few weeks--ever since she had almost been stabbed by one of String's men. The Arrow had found out that Sin had an "in" with String's organization, and he had pressed Roy to contact her and have her spy for them on  the inside. He had agreed at first, but the very next day, she was attacked by knife-toting henchmen and Roy pressured her into stop spying. Ever since then, unbeknownst to his friend, he had been her shadow, despite his better judgement.

Roy took a second to catch his breath after all the men were knocked unconscious, clenching and un-clenching his fists rhythmically, and he tugged his hood back over his face.

He bent down, scooping Sin up, bridal-style, and clutched her close  to his chest as he began walking back to his apartment. His hands were shaking from anger and hatred for the men who had hurt his friend, but also for himself. For a brief moment, when he saw all five of them ganging up on Sin, he had considered pulling his bow on those thugs.  _Do not become a killer...again_.

Roy's hands started to slip as they became slick with the blood still oozing from Sin's head and the smaller cuts along her spine, but he just tightened his grip on her limp body.  _You need to live, Sin_ , he thought, ramming his shoulder into the door to his apartment, carefully protecting the unconscious girl in his arms.

Careful not to knock Sin's body against anything, Roy kicked his door closed and gingerly laid her down on the bed. He barely cared about getting the sheets bloody--it wouldn't be the first time blood from a nighttime confrontation stained his sheets. He stepped back, getting a clear look at Sin for the first time that night, and pulled his hood down and took his mask off.

Her tousled hair was matted in the back and sides with dried blood, her face was bruised in multiple places, and her lip was cut, blood running out of the corner of her mouth.  _Focus_ , Roy chastised himself, tearing his gaze away from her lips, and started taking note of the injuries on the rest of her body.

His eyes didn't make it far, however, because her dark gray tank top was ripped about to her navel, exposing her plain black bra and pale stomach. He was embarrassed at the fact that he had carried her back to his room while she was half-naked, but he felt his rage flare up when he saw the bruises on her ribs.

He hated that he was distracted by Sin's exposed skin, but he quickly grabbed a t-shirt from his dresser, easing Sin out of her blood-crusted leather jacket, pulling the tank top's tattered remains off her, and slipping the shirt over her head. He let out a shaky breath of relief, deciding to focus on the injuries he  _could_ fix, rather than the stirring emotions that settled in his stomach.

Roy grabbed the makeshift first-aid kit and a damp washcloth, as he began to clean her wounds. The worst of her cuts weren't so deep that she needed stitches, even the blood covering the back of her head came from a shallow, if ugly-looking, gash.

When he finished, Sin was still unconscious and he realized that he was still clad in his Arsenal gear. He quickly changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants, not wanting to leave her alone for longer than he had to, but at least he could rest and keep an eye on her until she woke up.

* * *

Sin groggily opened her eyes and immediately bit back a scream as pain flared in her chest, arms, legs--anything she tried to move, there was pain. She tried to sit up and started to orient herself, because this was  _definitely_ not her apartment, but she fell back onto the bed with a groan. Her brow furrowed as she realized her shirt felt surprisingly rough and much bigger than she remembered, and when she looked down, she was wearing one of Roy's old t-shirts.

 _What happened?_ Sin thought, as she started to piece together the previous night's events.

"What's up, Sleeping Beauty?" Roy said, leaning against the shelf next to the bed, a slight smirk on his face, but concern in his eyes.

"Hey Abercrombie," Sin smiled weakly, rubbing her forehead. "Why am I in your apartment and wearing your clothes? Did we hook up last night," she joked, "because I don't remember that."

He laughed quietly, but his face fell when she tried to join in, and ended up sounding like a wheezing rattle. "You were attacked last night," he said grimly.

"You don't say?" She groaned, waving a hand at her injured face and body. "And I guess  _Arsenal_ just happened to be in the area?"

"I was, actually, and those men were..." he trailed off, and she could barely imagine what kind of sight he had stumbled upon when she was attacked.

"Thanks, I guess," Sin sighed, wincing as she ran a hand through her short hair. "Care to explain why I'm wearing your shirt?"

Roy ducked his head, red creeping up his neck and he handed her a torn piece of fabric.

She held up the cloth, but quickly dropped it when she realized that it was what remained of her shirt. "Thanks," she whispered, her own cheeks heating up as she thought of Roy carrying her to his apartment as she wore nothing but a leather jacket--which she saw resting on the nightstand in a bloody heap--and her bra.

"I'll go make you something to eat," Roy stated, breaking the uncomfortable silence and turning to walk back towards the kitchen.

Sin immediately protested and swung her legs over the bed's edge, ignoring the pain that shot up her spine. "No way, Abercrombie. I have stuff at my place. Besides, it'll do me some good to walk it off.:"

"No way," he protested forcefully, turning back to face her. "You were nearly killed last night, maybe worse than killed. You have several cracked ribs, probably a concussion, and I'm not letting you out of my sight so soon."

She ignored the swell in her chest at his words, "Sorry, but I've got stuff to do." Sin grabbed her jacket, shrugging it on as she marched over to the door. "Please, just...let me leave." Her voice softened as she put her hand on the door knob, refusing to look at her friend, and her own eyes flickering between hard and unfeeling, and watery with tears.

Roy slowly nodded, taking a step forward uncertainly. She had known Abercrombie for a while now, and he knew that she could handle herself on the streets of Starling City. 

Before she could open the door, though, it flew open, nearly hitting Sin in her still-throbbing skull. On the other side was a very angry-looking Thea Queen, her face turning unnervingly dark as she saw Sin wearing Roy's shirt, and the tank top still on the floor by the bed.

"What the hell is going on here?" Thea practically shouted, slamming the door shut before Sin could leave.

"Hello to you too, Queen,"' Sin muttered, flopping down, painfully, onto the couch. "And what do you  _think_ is going on here, exactly?" 

Thea just shot the girl a harsh look, before turning to Roy. "So, you two are sleeping together now, huh? Did I miss the part where you break up with me first?"

"What?!" Sin and Roy shouted in unison, turning to look at the younger Queen with identical confused looks on their faces.

"Sin was attacked last night," Roy explained, gesturing to the young woman's battered face. "I helped her as--you know, Arsenal--and brought her here to recover. Nothing more."

Thea huffed, wrinkling her nose in distaste, and glared at Sin. "How convenient, Roy! I don't believe this for a second. She gets beat up all the time, but now it's life-threatening and you two shack up barely a week after you find out that I killed Sara. You wouldn't want to date a murderer, would you?"

Thea had barely finished the sentence before Sin jumped up from her seat, rage filling her eyes and her pain vanishing for a minute. "You...you were the one who killed Sara! Thea, you were my friend...why would you  _kill her_?"

"Oh, so he didn't tell you last night during pillow talk? Or did he just not want to break the fragile Sin, and have someone else tell you while he reaped the pity rewards and played coward?"

"Roy was a  _friend_ ," Sin seethed with anger, waving Roy's helping hand away. "And he told me about Sara's death right after it happened, and he  _saved me_ last night when I nearly got myself killed. He was a friend and, unlike with you, I still trust him." She brushed past the younger Queen and limped out the door without a look back, heading towards her own apartment.

When she reached her building, her limbs were already screaming in pain, and the walk up the stairs was agony. Sin's face was glistening with sweat and she was seeing double, by the time she reached her door.

 _What now?_ She thought, once she saw that the lock on her door was broken and the door stood partially open. She distinctly remembered locking the door the night before, so whoever was in her apartment was up to no good, and certainly wasn't welcome. Sin took a deep breath, pushing the door open.

The man standing in the middle of her run-down apartment was about half a foot taller than her, yet still managed to appear towering to Sin's petite frame, his dark hair was cropped so short she couldn't tell its color. He was well-muscled and had a cold, calculating gleam in his dark eyes.

She was about to dismiss him as a non-threat...until she saw the sword leaning against her couch.

"Do I know you?" She asked harshly, balling her hands into fists, pain shooting up her arms.

"Cindy," He started, taking a step towards her.

"It's Sin, actually," she retorted, with a sneer that belied the pain it caused her. "And how the hell do you know my name?"

"I'm your Uncle Keith. I've come to make you an offer."

 _Well this_ is _new_ , was the only clear thought that emerged from Sin's jumbled mind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case it wasn't clear from this chapter, I'm not the biggest fan of Thea Queen, so (*spoilers*) she's not really going to come out looking great in this fic. Just and FYI in case you were looking for Thea/Roy or not comfortable with OOC/kind of a b**** Thea.
> 
> On a more serious note, if you have experienced sexual assault of any kind, please know that your experience is valid, and even if it's just the word of a girl on a fanfic website, I believe you.
> 
> As always, review and critique and comment!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout of Sin's actions continue, and her uncle's offer is explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is here!
> 
> Just realized that I never put a disclaimer on any of these chapters, so here it is: I don't own anything remotely related to Arrow or DC comics.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Don't come closer," Sin demanded, moving behind the kitchen table, throwing her hand out in front of her and wincing as she did so.

The man who claimed he was her uncle put his hands up in mock-surrender, his eyes narrowing when he registered his "niece's" injuries. "What happened to you, Cindy?"

"Don't call me  _Cindy_!" She growled fiercely. "And it's none of your business," she said, reveling in the childishness of her statement.

He sighed deeply, and took a seat on her couch, his posture appearing to be much more relaxed than before. And much more relaxed than Sin's own painfully tense muscles. "I've come to make you an offer."

"Yeah, you've said that already."

"Let me finish...Sin. "Ten years ago, my brother was killed in a plane crash above a small island called Lian Yu. I was the one who was supposed to take care of his preteen daughter who had just become an orphan. Yet, I was the irresponsible older brother; I had no idea how to raise a kid, but I also wanted justice for my brother's death." He paused for a moment, as if to let his words sink in. "The League of Assassins found me. They offered me a path to justice, a path to revenge."

"You're  _with_ that batch of lunatics?" Sin shouted, rubbing her temples in an attempt to get rid of her headache. But, that headache merely intensified with his next few words.

"They could do the same for you."

Sin shook her head in disbelief, lapsing into a stunned silence.

"You could  _become_ just as skilled, just as dangerous,  _just like_ Sara Lance. Train with the League and you could carry on her legacy as one of the deadliest assassins ever known, and you could avenge her death. The League helped me when my brother died, they can help you. Don't you see? History is repeating itself--your sister, my brother. Don't you want to carry on the tradition, Sin?"

Sin's head was spinning, and not just because she had lost so much blood the previous night. She gripped the edge of the table to keep herself from swaying. "What's your...League name?" It was an irrelevant question, but she needed something concrete to understand what was happening to her.

"Rattlesnake," he replied smoothly.

"Original," Sin muttered under her breath. "But, that hardly matters, because I'm not listening to you. You  _abandoned_ me on the streets of  _Starling City,_ in the Glades, nonetheless! When I was only twelve!" She was shouting now and marched over to the front door, flinging it open. "You need to leave now, Rattlesnake! And no, I'm not going to call you my uncle. I don't owe you anything...not anymore."

His face hardened and he grabbed his sword, menacingly moving towards Sin and the open door. In a lightning-fast motion, he swung the curved blade so that it was pressed against her throat. "And you're telling me that you don't owe the Canary anything? Even now?"

Without another word, her last living relative--that she knew of--stalked out the door and Sin slammed it shut behind him, breathing hard.

A wave of pain and nausea washed over her as the adrenaline wore off, and she was reminded of how injured she really was.  _Why did I need to leave Roy's again?_ She thought sarcastically, remembering that she needed to sort herself out.  _Oh right, Thea thinks Roy Harper and I are a thing. As if!_ Her stomach sinking when she remembered her friend accusing her of sleeping with her best friend.

Her stomach rumbled audibly, forcing Sin to confront the fact that she hadn't eaten anything in at least twenty-four hours. She limped over to the fridge, grabbing a lukewarm water bottle and an apple, and she leaned against the counter-top. She rested her forearms against the cool Formica, twisting the cap and taking a large swig of the clear liquid, hoping that would stop the pounding in her head.

A quick series of knocks startled Sin out of her mess of thoughts.  _What now?_ She thought, bitterly, looking at the door with mild frustration. Her head was throbbing, pain was shooting from every nerve in her body, and her chest was aching so badly that she wanted to believe it was just because she had cracked a rib. But, if she was being totally honest with herself, she was hurting because she had not been deemed worthy of her uncle's time when she needed  _any_ family to be there for her.  _He only wants me when I have the potential to become an assassin._

She limped over to the door, but when she opened it, her mildly annoyed scowl turned into a fierce glare.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

"Thea!" Roy exclaimed, pacing absentmindedly around his living room. "For the last time...Sin and I are not sleeping together!"

Thea let out an exasperated sigh before he could finish. "Of course you're going to say that, but do you think she will be that honest? Please, Sin will say anything to get under my skin; she's just using you!"

He was shocked at Thea's accusations and the venom that dripped from her words--it was astonishing to see how quickly she had turned against her friend. "Thea, you know that  _none of that is true!_ I brought Sin here because she was unconscious, and needed help. Aren't you just a little concerned that she was attacked? Isn't she your friend?"

"Not anymore," Thea spat, clearly not believing Roy and she stomped out the door, leaving her ex-boyfriend staring at his door in disbelief.

The brunette girl wound her way back towards the edges of the Glades, stopping in front of a large, run-down apartment complex. Roy had given her the address of Sin's apartment in case Thea--or anyone on Team Arrow--needed a safe house. She just hoped she was breaking into the right building. She slipped through an open window into an empty room and then made her way into an equally-deserted hallway.

As she was climbing down the stairwell to the fourth floor, a man with hardened features came slinking down. Thea pressed herself against the wall to let the broad-shouldered man pass. She turned to watch him leave, a habit her father (Merlyn, not Queen) had instilled in her, so she would always be prepared to watch her own back. When she did so, she caught a flash of silver as he rounded the landing to the next floor. She didn't think much of it, as her mind was solely focused on confronting her ex-friend for the second time in an hour.

Thea furiously knocked on Sin's door, tapping her foot impatiently.  _What is taking her so long? I actually have a life to get back to._

Sin opened the door, her face caught between a wince and a scowl. "What are you doing here?"

"Ugh, God, this is where you live?" Thea said with disgust, looking around Sin's shoulders and into the girl's apartment.

"Yeah, it's no Queen Mansion, but it serves its purpose," the dark-haired girl retorted. "Are you actually here for something or just to dis my apartment?"

"You're not fooling me with that oh-so-innocent act; you're just a criminal and Glades trash. I'm just wondering when you're going to leave us alone? We don't have time to take care of you twenty-four seven, because some of us have  _actual lives_ to attend to."

Sin smirked and rolled her eyes derisively. "Spoken like a true Queen. No one matters except you, right? You can party and do anything you want  with no consequences."

"You really have to get over Sara!" Thea spat, throwing her hands up. "She has a whole family who's mourning her death, and she doesn't need a pathetic, clingy, and completely  _helpless_ girl too!"

"At least I'm not a selfish, party-crazed, wanna'-be assassin!" Sin retorted.

Thea brought her hand back, slapping her other girl across the face, before stomping back down the stairs, her face a mask of anger.

* * *

Sin slammed her apartment's door and rested her head against the wall to quell her expanding headache.  _How much worse could these past twenty-four hours have been?_ She sighed again, as she made her way over to her small cot, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. And the tears weren't necessarily from the multitude of wounds but from her former friend's words.

Before long, she had fallen into a restless sleep, subconsciously pulling Roy Harper's t-shirt tighter around herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, reviews and kudos are always appreciated. Thanks for reading my little fic!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sin makes a decision, and meets a classic villain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm back with another chapter! Thanks to everyone who continues to read this weird little story of mine.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow or anything recognizable.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Can you train me?" Sin blurted out, looking at her feet and a slight blush rising in her cheeks when her friend didn't immediately respond. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking, you're way too busy to train me."

His crestfallen face seemed to support her statement. "I'm sorry, Sin," Roy said quietly.

"It's okay. I just...need to know that I can defend myself against another attack like the one the other night. The gangs are getting more violent, and I never got any formal training from S--the Canary. I was just her eyes and ears on the streets, and since you've been working with the Arrow for a while now, so I guess I just thought..." She trailed off into uncharacteristic silence, her eyes flicking between her friend and the stained wooden floor of her apartment.

"Cindy..." Roy started, not even realizing that he had used her real name until she shot him a death glare. "Sin, I don't mind training you--"

"Then why don't you?" She interrupted, throwing her hands up.

"Because I don't want to hurt you!" Roy exclaimed, before resting his forehead in his hands, her fingers grasping at his dark blonde hair. "I'm still not sure that the Mirakuru isn't still in my system, and if it's still in my blood, I'm more dangerous than any criminal." He paused carefully, his eyes pained and haunted as he looked up from his hands. "I feel like I need to keep you safe."

"Come  _on_ Roy, that's hardly an excuse!" Sin retorted, her anger flaring up as she pushed away the stirrings of hope she felt has his protectiveness of her. "I trust you, and you can't be sure that the Mirakuru is still there. It could be gone! Besides, I'm not totally defenseless, but I need to learn  _more_. I can't just do nothing," she pointed at her freshly bruised face, to remind him of the attack on her only a few nights ago.

"Last time you helped me, the last time I brought you into my  _other_ life, I backhanded you across a parking lot. I am  _not_ going to put you in that kind of danger again!" His voice steadily rising, and his blue eyes darkening in anger.

"I'll take that risk with you, if it means I can avoid another assault like the one you had to save me from!" Sin fired back, struggling to her feet, but finding that it was almost too painful to stand. "I  _need_ to be able to fight better, to fight cleaner."

"I won't-I can't be the one to help you. Ask the Arrow if you really need the training," he sighed, turning to leave, but her next words stopped him in his tracks.

"The League of Assassins found me," she looked at him, her desperation clear in her dark eyes. "My uncle's a member apparently, and he offered to take me to their headquarters an-and turn me into an assassin. He told me I would be able to avenge Sara's death. I don't want to go, but I don't really have anywhere else to turn."

"You really can't be that stupid, Sin!" Roy exclaimed, his voice thick with rage. "You can't be dumb enough to take your chances with the  _League of Assassins!_  They can't help you avenge Sara's death...they'll just turn you into a murderer."

"It's my only chance, Abercrombie," Sin retorted, the nickname rolling off her tongue with affection in her voice.

"The League will just make your life hell," he replied, storming out the door.

She fell back onto the couch as the slam of the door echoed in her ears. Sin rested her head in her hands, pressing her palms into her eyes, as if she was trying to forcibly push the tears back into her head, but they dripped through her fingers and onto the dirty couch cushions and the floor.  _League of Assassins or not, I am not letting them change who I am...I promise you that, Roy Harper_. Sin dug her cell phone out of her pocket, dialing the number that had appeared in her contact list after her uncle had shown up in her apartment. She stood up and started pacing anxiously, chewing on her lip as the phone rang.

"Cindy," a smooth, unfamiliar voice greeted her, an unknown accent adding a lilting tone to his words, "I assume you have changed your mind. I would hate for anything to happen to your vigilante friends if you have not."

"Yeah, I'm in."

"Meet Rattlesnake at the docks on the eastern bank of Starling City in five hours," She could practically hear the smile in his voice. "I will know if you bring your little vigilante friends to this meeting, so make sure you come alone. I look forward to meeting you, Cindy."

The phone clicked off, leaving Sin to stare at a blank screen as the dull dial-tone filled the air of her apartment, leaving her to wonder who exactly was on the other end of that call.

Five hours later, she closed the door to her apartment, tightening her grip on the knapsack slung over her shoulder, as she made her way down to the docks. She scanned the abandoned pier, the shadows playing tricks on her eyes. The harbor was mostly obscure by the fog that rolled off the water, puddling around her ankles. She shivered as the hair on the back of her neck stood up, and her uncle finally emerged from the shadows.

"Let's go," he growled, his voice much more rougher and coarse than when he had visited her the other day. Rattlesnake grabbed her upper arm, starting to drag her onto a small metal boat and then into a cramped cabin.

She stumbled into the room, dropping her knapsack as she did so.

"Stay here," Rattlesnake snarled, grabbing her back from the floor, disappearing out the door and locking the door behind him without another word.

_What did I get myself into?_ She thought, gingerly sitting down on the cot; her ribs still burned every time she moved and many of her bruises and cuts had not yet fully healed. Sin didn't want to admit it, but some small part of herself knew that Roy might have been right: the League of Assassins couldn't improve her life.  _But it's my only chance_ , she tried to reassure herself, but doubt continued to creep into her thoughts and gnaw at her mind. She settled in for a long trip to wherever the League called home, only the clothes on her back and her sore body to remind her of Starling.

* * *

Sin was jerked awake when the boat finally crashed against a wooden dock, sending the girl tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs and blankets. It had been a few days, and she had barely left the cabin, her uncle continuing to ignore her, except to tell her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't getting her knapsack back.

Ignoring the fresh round of pain, she scrambled to her feet, straightening her black shirt. She was about to head over to the door, when it opened suddenly, revealing her uncle.

"We're here," Rattlesnake said curtly, staring at her blankly. His cold eyes seemed even harsher than normal, and stubble coated his chin and outlined his thin mouth. "Get out here!"

Sin worked hard to disguise her emotions, but her insides were in a constant cycle of fear for who might be waiting for her on the island, determination to be strong and survive long enough to get back to her city, and sadness that she didn't get to say good-bye to her minuscule circle of friends (more like acquaintances), especially one frustratingly protective Roy Harper.

After they had disembarked, her uncle marched straight towards a tall, stone structure that looked like ti was carved into the mountainside. Its many arched entryways were manned with hooded and masked sentries, and the inside of the mountain seemed to be lit by flickering torchlight. Rattlesnake led her to a large, open chamber with a high-ceiling; the room had no furnishings except for a round, raised, stone pool.

A man flanked by several warrior-guards emerged from the shadows. He couldn't have been older than Rattlesnake--so in his late forties--with dark hair and goatee, with slight dusting of silver around his temples. He moved slowly, like a cat on the prowl, his dark green robe swishing around his feet, and was weighed down by a few gold necklaces around his neck, along with a gemstone on nearly every finger.

"This is my niece, Cindy," Rattlesnake announced, his voice suddenly laced with uncertainty. Sin wondered why he didn't give her last name, or even the name she had chosen for herself.

The imposing figure moved closer, until he was right in front of Sin, and placed one hand on her shoulder. She resisted the urge to flinch and pull away, and she forced herself to look the man in the eye.

"She has courage," the man remarked, speaking for the first time, his voice incredibly familiar. "And there is a loneliness about her. She will make a fascinating trainee."

Sin's breath caught in her throat, her heart beating unevenly in her chest.  _This is him_ _. This is the man who threatened Roy and the Arrow on the phone._

"Welcome to Nanda Parbat," the man smiled, inclining his head and spreading his hands. "I am Ra's al Ghoul."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know we didn't get any Roy POV in this chapter, but don't worry, that will be coming up.
> 
> As always, please read and review, and I appreciate everyone who has already left a kudos!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and the Arrow's team has to deal with the consequences of Sin's decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is Roy's POV that I promised! Beware, it gets super angsty from here on out.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything remotely close to Arrow or DC.
> 
> Enjoy!

Roy tore through the streets of Starling City, his heart seemingly pumping pure adrenaline instead of blood, and his breath coming in short, rapid puffs. He had gone to Sin's run-down apartment building that morning to convince her not to make any drastic choices, and that he would help her find someone to teach her how to fight. However, the minute that he arrived at her door, he began sprinting back to Verdant. He took the stairs two at a time down to the basement. Felicity was on a date, Ray Palmer was at his lab (it was practically a date since he was working on the A.T.O.M. suit with that petite brunette he had been in love with since she started working for him), and Oliver was at a charity event with his sister, so Dig and Laurel were the only two left at the spacious headquarters.

"Can either of you track a cell phone?" Roy asked, out of breath. Both of his friends' faces became concerned as he came barreling into the room, out of breath, and didn't stop running until he nearly ran into the three computer monitors.

"What's wrong?" Laurel asked, her voice calm and measured. "Is Olli-Oliver okay? Do you need our help?"

"Oliver's fine, he's still at the mayor's event with Thea," Roy explained in a rush, gulping in a lungful of air. "Sin's not at her apartment, her cell's not working, and if her uncle has found her..." he trailed off as his adrenaline did, slumping into Felicity's swivel chair. Roy threw a crumpled-up piece of paper onto the table for Laurel and Diggle to read. "She left this taped around her apartment's door handle.

 

> _Abercrombie--I'm sorry I never actually thanked you, and I'm sorry that our last memories of each other for a long time will be a fight. But I'm not sorry about my choice. I swear that I won't let the League turn me into one of their dead-eyed assassins. I'll be like Sara: get the training and get out. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone._

The note was unsigned, but everyone in the room knew that it was from the street-wise young woman. Roy absolutely  _hated_ if anyone else called him "Abercrombie."

"What does she mean  _her choice_?" Diggle asked, crossing his arms like he always did when he was trying to figure out a problem or if he wanted to be intimidating.

"Her uncle visited her a few days ago," Roy sighed, running a hand through his hair. "He was apparently supposed to take care of her after her father died." Both Dig and Laurel nodded, having heard about the plane crash on Lian Yu from Oliver. "But instead, he jointed the League of Assassins and when he came back to Starling...he offered Sin a spot in the League."

Laurel gasped audibly and took a few steps back as if in shock, Diggle's facial expressions didn't change except for a slight widening of his eyes, but Roy slumped against the chair, all of the air suddenly rushing out of him, and a pained expression on his face.

"I think she left with them last night,"  Roy finished quietly. And with that declaration, Diggle shook his head in disbelief and Laurel started firing a million questions at the youngest member of the team, playing the part of intimidating lawyer incredibly well as she tried to extract every bit of information about their missing friend.

When he didn't answer when Laurel asked if Sin was going to be okay, she crouched down, looking Roy in the eyes, their faces sharing the same pained expression. "I only me Sin once," Laurel said after a brief paused. "And I could see why she meant so much to Sara--she's tough, capable, strong. She can handle herself and she's proven that fact many times in the Glades, and when she helped us. My sister considered her another addition to our family, and I think she was right. Sin is part of our family now...and the Lances' are a tough family."

"I know she's strong, and capable, but she's not an  _assassin_!" Roy shouted, struggling to keep a hand on his temper. "And they can't turn her into one! I won't--"

"Calm down, Roy," Dig said in his trademark "calming" tone. "She made her choice, and Felicity has been searching for the League's base for months and she's nowhere close. And even when she does find it, I'm not--and Oliver certainly won't--letting you go in guns blazing, because of one girl. I know you care about her, and we are all grateful for her help, but this feels like something you have to let her do on her own."

"What's with this little pow-wow?" Felicity quipped, strolling in with Ray, Thea and Oliver following the two scientists. "And why are you sitting in my chair?"

"Sin joined the League of Assassins," Laurel explained gently, pulling Felicity, Oliver, and Ray out of Roy's earshot. "She left last night, with her uncle. Roy's worried for her, I mean we all are, but he seems pretty broken up about it. He wanted to know if we can track her cell phone."

"Yeah, no problem," Felicity assured them, exchanging worried glances with Ray and Oliver as she walked over to her seat, Roy quickly standing up.

"How is he?" Oliver asked, glancing in his protege's direction.

"Not so good," Dig replied, crossing his arms once more. "Something made them fight the day she left, and I think that's eating at him."

"Can someone please fill me in on this Sin person?" Ray asked, raising a hand and doing an uncanny impression of a confused puppy.

"She's a  _friend_ of Roy's," Thea chimed in, her tone full of spite and distaste. "She lived on the streets in the Glades and was always so  _helpful_ to the team and the first Canary."

"That's enough, Thea," Oliver cautioned forcefully. "We've relied on her help and knowledge more times than I can count."

His sister just snorted derisively and rolled her eyes, walking over to where Roy was leaning against the basement's metal walls. "Maybe it's a good thing she's disappeared off the face of the earth," she purred softly, joining Roy and leaning in close to him so that no one else could hear. "Besides, I think I'm willing to give  _us_ a second chance."

"No," he shook his head, taking a step backwards. "I'm not doing this anymore, Thea. Sin is my friend and I'm gonna' do what it takes to find her and get her back."

"Speaking of which," Felicity started, but her face fell as she analyzed her computer screens a bit more. "Um, well, the good news is that I found Sin's cell...the bad news is that it's at the bottom of Starling City Harbor."

Roy looked panicked and Laurel was crestfallen as the blonde delivered her announcement. The room seemed drained of all sound for a few seconds before Felicity started her nervous chatter.

"That doesn't she's not--not with the League," she tried to reassure herself and the whole room. Although, she wasn't really succeeding as everyone knew that the League of Assassins wasn't known for their kindness. "Her uncle could have thrown it into the Harbor as a precaution."

"Maybe, but now we have no way of finding her," Roy sighed angrily, his eyes a mix of despair and rage.

"Roy," Oliver started, taking a step forward. "We're going to keep looking for the League and Sin, but you need to be prepared for this to take some time. Our best chance of helping Sin, is to find Ra's al Ghoul and that is going to take a while, possibly months to just figure out where the League is hiding."

"You know how much damage the League can do in a few months!" Roy exploded, stepping into the center of the room and facing off with Oliver. "They're going to turn her into an  _assassin_ , and she is going to  _let them!_ I'm not going to let that happen...I have to find her." Leaving the team in stunned silence, the young archer stormed up the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

Oliver moved to follow, but Laurel stopped him with a hand on his muscled forearm. "Let him go, at least for a little while," she said comfortingly. "He's too distraught right now to listen to you, or anyone, for that matter. Give him today to vent. Roy will be in a better place tomorrow, so you can try talking some sense into him then."

Oliver sighed, turning back to the team and his sister, all of whom where looking at him expectantly as a little red light started flashing on the center-most of Felicity's computer screens. The blonde hacker looked at Laurel, then Oliver and gave a slight nod of her head, concern in her eyes.

The Arrow grabbed his bow, an angry scowl coming across his features as his mind switched into vigilante-mode. "We'll do this one without Roy. Palmer, you're up!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for sticking with this story, and I appreciate every single kudos and review I get! As always, feel free to leave a critique or comment, I love them!
> 
> Until next time!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four months after Sin's departure, how is the Team and Sin handling that decision?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of a time jump in this one, but this one is a lot longer (I think) than any other previous chapter!
> 
> Enjoy!

**Four Months Later**

The dark-haired girl sailed across the room, hitting the opposite wall with a dull  _thud_ and crashing onto the floor. Her attacker sauntered over, kicking her sword dangerously close to her hand, his own curved blade held loosely in his left hand, his heavy boot steps were surprisingly soft for his size and commanding posture.

The man yanked off his hood, revealing his hard features and a grim expression. "Get up," he growled at the fallen girl, yanking her shoulder-length braid, forcing her face closer to his.

"Give me a minute,  _Rattlesnake_ ," Sin hissed harshly, slowly climbing to her feet and scooping up her sword.

The very first day the Starling City orphan had arrived in Nanda Parbat, she was showed a wall of weapons and told to choose one out of the hundreds offered. Wary of the entire League watching her, she took a delicate, silver samurai's sword--a katana--off the wall. Without warning, Ra's al Ghoul took the sword from her hand and used it to slice off the head of the nearest member. Sin refused to eat or speak to anyone for weeks and was nearly killed by her uncle when she refused to touch the sword for nearly a month. She had locked the memory away deep inside herself, but she was still haunted each night. Ever since then, she had insisted only on using her katana for self-defense.

"No," Rattlesnake growled, grabbing her upper arm, pushing her away and sending her tumbling across the room. "You need to learn to fight like an  _assassin_ , not some mangy street fighter." Her uncle emphasized his last point with a vicious kick.

Sin grunted in pain, but climbed to her feet once more, taking immense care to keep her expression neutral, an ability Rattlesnake had beat into her months ago.

He swung his curved sword at her stomach, a blow that might have killed Sin if she had't brought her katana up, catching the blade inches away from her abdomen. The assassin brought his sword back, arcing over her head and cutting towards her neck. Once more, Sin blocked a deadly attack with quick reflexes, catching the blade on the hilt of her sword, her hair flying in front of her face. She struggled to keep the swords crossed, and Rattlesnake quickly got the upper hand, disarming her and kicking her shins, which knocked her down and he pointed the weapon's point at her neck.

"I could have killed you twenty times in the past hour," Rattlesnake chastised stoically. "You have barely improved in the four months you've been training. I am extremely displeased...and so is Ra's al Ghoul."

"I'll train, and fight you, and learn your ways," Sin shouted angrily, rising from the dusty floor and facing her uncle. "But I will  _not_ become a killer!"

Her uncle's hand moved faster than Sin could see, and she found herself sprawled on the floor before she could defend herself. Rattlesnake sneered at her fallen form, but Sin stood and walked out of the training room with her head held high, her sword dangling from her belt.

She wandered the stone hallways of Nanda Parbat aimlessly for what seemed like hours. In all of her months in the underground fortress, she had managed to find the quietest hallways and darkest corners to haunt when her uncle got on her nerves, or when she wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

She peered through one of the rare windows that painted silver knives on the stone floor as the moon rose in the night sky. A delicate crescent moon hung high in the sky, its glow not diminished by clouds or stars--the air was so clear she could practically see the gray light radiating from the curved moon.  _It looks like a bow tonight,_ Sin thought, her mind inexplicably turning to Roy Harper at that moment.  _I wonder what Abercrombie's up to right now. I hope he's okay, and you know, alive._ Her mind turned to their fight the day she left Starling City.  _We fought then, and now he probably hates me. Oh, don't be melodramatic, Sin,_ she chided herself.  _He might have forgotten about you for a while, but he doesn't hate you. And you don't hate him either, because you know he was trying to protect you._ She sighed and turned her face towards the moon, Roy's smile appearing in her mind and reminding her of the good her friends did each night, keeping her desire to get back to Starling City alive. "Don't worry Roy, I'm coming back soon."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Sin heard soft footsteps that were coming steadily nearer. Not wanting to be caught wandering after her curfew, she ran down the hall, as quickly as she could while remaining as silent as she could be. She pressed herself in the darkest corner she could find, closed her eyes, and held her breath, hoping that the master assassins hadn't heard her. The sentries rounded the corner, silent as ever, clearly following the trail she must have left. The two tall and agile-looking men searched high and low for her, but she was too well-hidden.

After ten minutes of searching, the two continued on their patrol, angry that they had been outsmarted by a trainee. Sin stayed immobile for nearly a half hour more, her breath coming at irregular intervals. She moved out of her hiding place, slowly enough that she could become nearly invisible again if she needed to.

"You have a knack for disappearing," a smooth, lightly-accented female voice said.

"Like the Cheshire Cat," Sin retorted, turning around to face the voice.

Standing at one end of the corridor was Nyssa al Ghoul, with her long, dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, and her face nearly unreadable but for a small smirk, she was the picture of the League's particular brand of graceful deadliness. "I've never seen a trainee who could evade the League's gaze so completely. What is your name?"

"Sin, well, Cindy to everyone here," she answered, attempting to use her confidence to mask the wariness she felt towards the woman.

"You're Rattlesnake's niece, the one from Starling City. Did you know..." Nyssa trailed off, her face looking downtrodden for a moment, but she quickly regained her regal expression. "How were you able to disappear like that?"

"I've lived in the Glades for nearly half my life, ever since I was twelve," Sin explained, relieved that Nyssa wasn't going to turn her into the Daemon's Head. "I had to learn how to hide from pursuers and gangs pretty early on. Plus, I have some...friends that like to run around all night, so I picked up some tactics from them."

"You could put those skills to better use," Nyssa said, nodding at the trail of bruises that went from Sin's forehead, down her face and neck, and into her training clothes.

"But that's not the League's way, is it?" Sin bristled at the woman's condescending tone. "They would much rather I know how to kill a man than hide from one."

"Good thing I'm not as conventional as you--or the League, for that matter--would think I am," Nyssa said slyly, leading Sin into an abandoned, circular room. "I know you miss someone in Starling City, just as I do, and I can help you get back to him  _alive_."

Sin was instantly glad that the darkened room hid the furious blush in her cheeks. "It's not what you think,"  she protested weakly. "Abercrombie and I...he has a girlfriend!"

"But you aren't denying that you miss him," Nyssa smirked mockingly, yet her eyes seemed sad.

"Of course I miss him!" Sin exclaimed, but quickly lowered her voice when Nyssa shot her a dark look. "He's my best friend, my only friend really," she sighed deeply, running a hand through her long hair.  _Still feels weird,_ she thought. "I want to get stronger, but I promised him, I promised  _myself,_ that I wouldn't lose myself and that I wouldn't become a killer."

"The...person I love, didn't want to kill either, but at times sh--they had little choice," she paused briefly, the sadness in her eyes emerging again. "You remind of the fire that they had inside of them, the passion they held to do justice. I can teach you how to use those disappearing skills of yours to defeat your enemies."

"Can you teach me to fight?" Sin blurted out. Hiding wouldn't help much if she couldn't defend herself more capably. "I'm grateful and all for your help, but..."

"I will," Nyssa interrupted. "With my training, you could become one of the League's greatest warriors, but I cannot ensure that you will never have to kill anyone. Although I will make sure that no innocent blood will ever touch your hands."

"Thank you, Nyssa," Sin sighed. It wasn't a perfect solution, but nothing in her life ever was, and this was the best deal she was going to get. "If you don't mind me asking, who do you miss in Starling?"

The assassin paused, her eyes betraying a sense of longing despite her cold features. "As a matter of fact, that question does bother me." Nyssa seemed to glide over to the door, stopping briefly as if she wanted to say something to the younger woman, but clearly changed her mind as she disappeared out the door without a trace.

_Great,_ Sin thought, creeping down the hallways of Nanda Parbat to her small room.  _Now I've managed to piss off the one person who could be my ally in this hellhole._

* * *

Arsenal crouched on Palmer Technology's rooftop, his bowstring pulled taught and the arrow aimed at a tenth-story window across the street. Clouds filled the night sky, blocking out the moon, but they provided the perfect cover for the team. Roy tuned out as Felicity began her usual chatter for the mission, focusing on his breathing and making sure to keep the arrow steady.

It was supposed to be a simple stakeout.

Oliver went inside the building as Queen--not the Arrow for once--to have a fake business meeting with the backer of String's gang. Once he had recorded enough evidence--using Felicity's recording pin that deserved to be in a Bond movie--they would wait for the mobster's men to arrive and apprehend as many as possible. Black Canary and Diggle were each stationed two blocks away in opposite directions, to catch any members who tried to run, and the Atom was hovering roughly twenty yards above Roy's head, ready to swoop in and give the team necessary air support. Roy was just the lookout--prepared to help from afar if Oliver needed it (he never did) and to keep tabs on the gang's movement (they never seemed to move in patterns).

"What's the address of your employer?" He heard Oliver ask innocently, and Roy re-focused his vision on the meeting taking place across the street.

"Get ready." Roy warned as he saw the man reach under his desk, just as threatening-looking masked men emerged from the surrounding warehouses and buildings. "Ray, you might want to risk descending a few yards, we are probably going to need some help in a minute."

"Copy that...Arsenal," Ray said in a practically cheerful tone. The soft whirring and dull roar of the engines on his suit cut through the quiet night, but it was still quiet enough to be hidden by the hum of traffic. "I'm in position, and there's still a lot more of these guys coming."

"Hold on, Oliver," Diggle chimed in. "We're moving in closer and when we're ready, you're going to need to  _get out of there!_ " Oliver didn't respond, but Roy could see his hands tightening on the armrests of his chair. without any warning, armed gunmen burst into the room and trained their weapons on the undercover vigilante.

"I can't take them all out with one arrow, and once I shoot, the rest of them will open fire," Arsenal cried desperately, rollings his shoulders to unwind some of the tension locked in his arms and upper back.

Oliver jumped to his feet and before the goons could act, he had the backer by the throat, holding a small knife-pen to his neck. He had also managed to knock out three of the men in his scramble to vault over the table.

"What are you doing?" Roy asked, trying to aim his arrow at the backer, while making sure  _the_ Arrow wouldn't be skewered.

"I don't want to kill him," Oliver said, half for the would-be attackers and half for the benefit of his own team. "You just have to let me out of here,  _alive_." The men looked as if they were going to listen to Oliver, but the cowering man Queen had in a chokehold, grabbed something from beneath his desk and stabbed it into his Oliver's hand, forcing him to grunt in pain and release the backer.

The sudden commotion in the room startled both Roy and the gunmen, and the former accidentally let loose the arrow. It crashed through the window, prompting the gunmen to open-fire at Oliver. The vigilante ducked behind the desk, before running and throwing himself out of the glass windows.

"Oliver?" Felicity and Laurel said in unison, concern lacing both their voices. Ray Palmer cursed under his breath as he dived past Roy, catching Oliver minutes before he crashed into the ground, slowing their descent enough that neither of the two were harmed.

"Thank goodness," the blonde technician sighed, as she heard the two men grunt upon the impact with the ground. "You guys are okay."

"What the hell was that?" Oliver growled, not bothering to respond to anyone's questions about his well-being. Roy couldn't see his face from up on the rooftop, but he knew how furious his mentor must  be with him.

* * *

"You're distracted again," Nyssa reprimanded, smoothly circling her protege and her fists raised in readiness for combat. She sprung forwards and Sin barely managed to duck the punch, automatically lashing out with an attack of her own. "You need to learn how to anticipate attacks before I can even think of them. Be mindful of your environment, use your surroundings to your advantage!"

The two dark-haired young women continued to trade attacks, until Nyssa grabbed the leg Sin had tried to kick her with and twisted it sharply. She crashed to the floor, stomach-first, a ragged breath escaping her lungs.

"How long have we been at this?" Sin snapped, panting and sore, and propped herself up on one elbow.

"Nearly three hours," Nyssa said calmly, showing no signs of exhaustion. "You have improved since I started teaching you, but I fear it may not be enough. Ra's al Ghoul wishes to induct you tomorrow. The process is strenuous, and you might not be strong enough to go through with it."

"Wonderful," Sin grumbled sarcastically, pushing her sweaty hair out of her face.  _I never had this problem with my short hair,_ she thought bitterly.  _Rattlesnake still hasn't told me why he wanted my hair to grow out. There doesn't appear to be any kind of standard League haircut, anyway._

"Sin!" the Daemon's Daughter barked, snapping her fingers in front of the girl's nose. "You have to keep your daydreaming under control."

"I've never had a distraction problem before," she tried to defend herself.

"Yes, but you've never been away from Roy Harper for so long," the older woman smirked knowingly. Sin spluttered in shock and disbelief at her mentor's statement.

"H-How...?"

"You talk in your sleep sometimes," Nyssa smiled, her whole face transforming into a welcoming and lighthearted expression. "You're good at disappearing, but this is something you can't hide from."

"But it's not just him I miss," she protested. "There are tons of other people in Starling that I miss."

"Of course there are," Nyssa relented, clearly not believing Sin's feeble defense and nodding at her blushing face.

* * *

"What happened out there?" Oliver shouted as the team entered Verdant's basement, rounding on Roy. "You blew that entire operation!"

"Oliver!" Laurel interjected harshly. "It was a mistake! Anyone of us could have made it."

The millionaire-vigilante just growled wordlessly, his cold eyes resting on the younger man once more, as the new Canary glared at Oliver with disappointment. "Ollie," Laurel decided to try a different, softer, approach. "Can I talk to you...in  _private_?" Without another word or waiting for a response, she climbed the basement stairs and into the empty club.

Roy avoided Oliver's annoyed glare, as well as Felicity and Diggle's sympathetic looks. When Thea tried to comfort him, with a sickly sweet smile on her face, he shook her off and slammed his palms into the metal table. Felicity jumped nervously at his sudden outburst and glanced at hsi tense form in concern.

Upstairs, Laurel and Oliver were trying to keep their voices low, but they were failing, their argument drifting down into the team's headquarters.

"I still don't see  _why_ you're so angry with Roy!" Laurel exclaimed in defense of the young vigilante.

"Because it's not just tonight that he's screwed up," Oliver hissed, taking a step towards her. "He's been off his game for months! He's reckless, and he's going to get someone--possibly a civilian, probably himself--killed."

The lawyer rolled her eyes, and looked at her ex with disbelief in her bluish-green eyes. "Are you really that blind, Oliver? You really can't see what he's been going through these past few months? Fine, well answer me this: what  _changed_ in Roy's life roughly four months ago?"

"Roy started failing this team," Oliver quipped, but turned serious when Laurel shot him a harsh look. "Sorry. That was probably around the time Sin left with the League of Assassins. But what would that have to do with anything?"

"He misses her!" The light-haired woman exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief and throwing her hands in the air. "Roy's worried that she's going to be killed or come out a changed person, and he hates that he can't do anything to help her."

"When did you become so knowledgeable about  _Roy Harper's_ inner thoughts?" Oliver asked sarcastically, but a hint of jealousy crept into his words.

"Because it's exactly how I would feel if someone I cared about--someone I cared about as much as Roy cares about Sin--went with the League. Someone like..." She trailed off, looking at Oliver sadly and trying to hide her message in her soft features.

He looked back at her, confusion written all over his cold face, but he looked down ashamedly when he realized who she was talking about. He stepped closer still, taking her hand in his. "I'll try and be nicer to him, okay? I guess I never put together all he could be going through."

Laurel blushed and nodded silently, squeezing his fingers gently.

* * *

Sin absentmindedly twirled her braid around her pointer finger, chewing on her lower lip as Ra's al Ghoul paced in front of her, his dark robes sweeping the floor and his many jeweled rings outshining even the brightest of the torches. Nyssa had insisted on being absent from Sin's initiation, claiming to have a lead on Oliver Queen's whereabouts in order to skip the ceremony, or else Ra's might become suspicious of their secret training sessions. Throughout the day-long process, Sin missed Nyssa's harsh but honest presence, as she was instead surrounded by masked, stoic assassins.

The first test was a simple training exercise--she had to defeat a dozen trained assassins without sustaining any injuries in under five minutes, and she completed the task easily enough despite the time pressure.

The next test was a concealment challenge--it was, essentially, an elaborate game of hide-and-seek, which she passed with flying colors thanks to Nyssa's training and her own natural affinity for disappearing.

The final test was to prove her unwavering loyalty to the League.

They made her kill a rogue member of the League of Assassins.

When she stabbed his heart with her sai, she forced her face to remain emotionless, but the act sent her insides rolling in the most sickening way. Sin quickly straightened up when Ra's stopped his paces and turned to her, her hands snapping to her sides. She was careful to keep her breathing even, but she still worried that the Daemon's Head could hear her heart's quick beats.

"On this day," Ra's shouted suddenly, turning to face the rest of the League. He held her katana and sais in front of him. "Cindy Terrin is dead...and an assassin will be born in her place."

On the last word, she felt herself become dizzy and her mind emptying as her memories started to fade from her thoughts. She tried to fight it, her willpower pushing and straining against the magic that tried to force its way into her mind. Her brain felt like it was on fire, beyond any headache she had ever experienced, but her heart felt like it was seizing up in her chest while her lungs and throat started to close off--she couldn't breathe.

In the midst of her inner turmoil, memories floated up to the forefront of her thoughts. She quickly realized that those memories were the ones she wanted to remember, and the ones she desperately clung to when she was at her lowest points. The memory of the last time her parents were together. Going to a baseball game with her father. Meeting Sara Lance on the night of the Uprising. Roy's signature grin.

His smile was burned into her mind and had no intention of being erased, no matter what kind of magic the League tried to brainwash her with. His was a smile that could hold a thousand emotions: joy, concern, surprise, affection, lov--

_League of Assassins or not, I'm not changing who I am._

Her own voice floated towards the forefront of her mind and overpowered most of the other memories. Roy's gruff voice was the only one that was able to cut through her current memories, somehow soothing her mind but firing up her will to fight the League from within.  _I don't want to hurt you! I feel like I need to keep you safe._ She steeled her will, but remembered the lighter feelings she felt in that moment, giving her the strength to expel the majority of the League's magic. However, she forced her face to relax and her expression to become blank, holding back a slight smile as her plan formed in her mind.

_Cindy..._ She forced herself not to react and a warm glow settled in her stomach when she realized it was Roy's voice once again--one of the many times he forgot that she hated her real name.  _Although I never quite hated it as much when Abercrombie calls me that._

"Cindy Terrin is dead," Ra's repeated, handing her katana and sais. "Who are you now?"

Sin proudly lifted her head and struggled to keep her expression neutral, but a small twinkle lit up her dark eyes. "Cheshire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to spend a lot of chapters on her training, and there is still a lot more plot to get through, but here is where the angst really starts to increase.
> 
> As always, please read, review, leave kudos, etc. I appreciate it immensely!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An assassin arrives in Starling City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! We're halfway through this story now, so things are abotu to pick up.
> 
> Enjoy!

The masked figure crouched at the top of Starling City's tallest building: the central hub of Palmer Technologies. Her short tunic fell to mid-thigh and her black combat boots climbed to just below her knees. One of the tunic's long sleeves concealed a row of throwing stars, while the other held a single silver sai. Her cat-like figure had not moved in hours as she watched the rooftops of Starling. In an instant, she had taken off across the roof and leapt precariously from building-to-building but the face behind the mask refused to show fear or any emotion for that matter, in contrast to the wide smile adorning the mask.

She chased her target for several more minutes, her legs becoming sore but her step never faltering. In another  lightning-fast movement, the assassin sprung forward and tackled her opponent, sending them both tumbling across the steel roof.

Partway through the roll, the assassin released her target and rolled to a graceful stop, one leg tucked under her, the other stretched out to the side, and her gloved hands reaching for her retractable katana. The hooded figure was not as graceful in picking himself up, but his tight grip on the red bow he carried made the assassin falter a bit--but not by much.

The masked assassin drew her sword in one fluid motion as she straightened up. She pointed her katana at the ground nonchalantly, but her entire body tensed, betraying her anxiety towards a confrontation.

The vigilante's red hood concealed his features, except for two eerily familiar blue eyes, but with a cold sheen to them. The vigilante was the one to blink first, firing an arrow at the dark-haired figure, which she promptly deflected with her sword. She began running straight for him, deflecting his arrows and attacks skillfully. When she was close enough to smell his faint cologne, she spun around, kicking a leg out mid-spin, striking him in the shoulder. He stumbled backwards, dropping the bow, but caught her wrist in one hand and twisted, disarming her. The masked figure dropped to a crouch, sweeping her legs but he managed to dart out of reach, pulling out an arrow as he did so. Her eyes widened behind the mask as he wound up to throw the arrow at her chest, but she grabbed a throwing star from her sleeve, lunging forward and managing to deflect the arrow so it only grazed her shoulder, but she fell onto her stomach. Rolling to her feet in front of him, the assassin pulled her sai from its hidden sheath and pressed it against the back of the vigilante's neck.

They were both breathing heavily from the fight, but his eyes were clear and defiant as he stared into her grotesque mask. She paused briefly, leaning forward and staring straight into his cold blue eyes. "Don't be so disappointed, Red. This isn't a one-time deal, I'm sure we'll meet again," she purred in his ear, digging the sai into his neck--light enough to not draw blood, but hard enough to remind him of her skill.

* * *

A  _pop_ shocked the vigilante out of his stupor, and he rushed forward to attack his assailant, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had vanished with nothing but a dark cloud of smoke that floated up and disappeared into the night sky.

Roy Harper pulled down his hood in frustration, his teeth grinding together in anger.  _Who was that?_ He thought, picking up his bow from where it had fallen, cursing under his breath as he scanned the area.  _Of course her sword is gone. Wouldn't want to make this easy for me._

He shook his head in anger but pushed the fight out of his mind as he continued the rest of his patrol. However, when he returned to Verdant later that night, he allowed himself to think of the semi-violent encounter, but the Team interrupted before he could dwell on it too much.

"I see everything's going well with Lily," Felicity teased from her station, looking over to where Ray Palmer was walking in, a dopey grin on his face. "Oh, hey Roy, how was patrol? Are you looking for Oliver, 'cause he just left with Thea; he was talking about training her tonight, to become an official part of the Team and maybe as a rep--never mind." She quickly stopped herself when he slumped into one of the lair's many swivel chairs.

"What's going on Roy?" Ray asked, the grin disappearing as a concerned look came over his normally cheery face. The younger man looked up to the Palmer Tech CEO as the big brother he didn't have, and Ray was clearly ready to fully step into that role. "Felicity, could we have a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," Felicity nodded hesitantly and glanced between the two men before retreating back up to the stairs to Verdant.

"Roy," Ray started, leaning against the console across from Arsenal. "You can trust me, you know that right? So, what happened on patrol? Oh, and don't try lying to me; my girlfriend is a certified genius and I own the best tech company in the world, so we can definitely find out whatever we need to."

Toughness wasn't a natural look on Palmer, but Roy hung his head--the events of this night had shaken him to his core and he needed to tell someone.

"There's a new assassin in Starling City."

* * *

Sin paused outside her old apartment's window, chewing her lip--a nervous habit even the League of Assassins couldn't wipe from her mind. She quickly removed her mask and absent-mindedly combed her long hair. With a  _crash_ her uncle opened the window and pulled her into the small room. Sin fell inside head-first, her mask flying from her hands and clattering to the floor.

He grabbed her tunic's collar and hauled her to her feet. "Why are you here?"

"He got away," Sin lied through gritted teeth. He smacked her across the face, but she refused to cry out and stared darkly back at him, ignoring the red mark staining one pale cheek. "He beat me and got away," she repeated, balling her hands into fists, concealed by the folds of her tunic-dress.

Rattlesnake growled and shoved her against a wall, pressing one hand to her throat, the other balled into a fist, pulled back and ready to punch the bridge of her nose. "It is _your mission_ to find the Arrow for Ra's al Ghoul, and to eliminate his team. Now, _where...is...Arsenal?_ "

When she refused to answer, his fist shot forward and returned to its original position so quickly, that the only difference appeared to be the blood coating his knuckles and her face.

Pain exploded in her nose, and Sin groaned inwardly but she forced her hands back to her sides and clenched the fabric of her short dress to stop herself from unleashing her fury on her uncle.

He punched her stomach, dropping her to the floor. She involuntarily curled herself into a small ball as Rattlesnake brushed past her, kicking her shoulder as he did so. "You are  _Cheshire_ now. Cindy Terrin is dead and her  _sentiment_ towards Arsenal is  _not_ to be tolerated!" He then dragged her to her feet, shoving her into the wall once more, before scooping up her mask, flinging it at her, and practically throwing her back out the window. "Come back when you have  _results!_ "

Sin scrambled down the fire escape ladder, only managing to descend one story before she collapsed and allowed herself a few moments to indulge herself in the pain and fatigue that radiated from her body,  along with the grief that had been present since she returned to Starling City. A single tear trickled down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away before it could drop to the ground.

She slowly picked up her mask and stared at it forlornly. Red triangles rimmed the white mask's edges, giving it a cat-like appearance. The eye-openings were covered with a dark mesh that allowed her to see clearly, but prevented those she was fighting to see her eyes.  _That especially came in handy tonight,_ Sin thought wryly, remembering her fight with Arsenal on the rooftops above the city. The last component of her Cheshire mask was a wide, white, but vaguely grotesque smile that covered the bottom half of her face.

When she put on the mask, Sin's identity was protected--which was a relief to the young woman--but it sometimes made it hard to remember exactly who she was.  _You're Sin,_ she reminded herself.  _You're twenty-three years old. You've lived on the streets of Starling City since you were twelve...and you're friends with Roy Harper._ She needed to remind herself of everything that made her  _Sin,_ so the League could not brainwash her or turn her into a cold-hearted assassin.

 _And for some reason, Abercrombie stops that damn magic from crawling any deeper into my brain._ Sin shook her head in near-disbelief at her thoughts, sighing dejectedly. She flinched when she heard Rattlesnake slam the windows open, shouting incoherently at the city.  _Well...it looks like it's time to disappear._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was shorter than the last one, this was a bit more exposition than normal, but it was necessary!
> 
> As always, i appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this, and welcome any critiques and comments!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reunion between with less chance of bodily harm or death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for the end of the week! Not much plot-wise happening but I loved writing this chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Arrow or DC
> 
> Enjoy!

The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky to diminish its light, a rare occurrence in the normally gloomy Starling City. Sin was glad that she could still walk around Starling unnoticed, despite the fact that she was used to feeling exposed, both in the League and at night. She was a block away from Verdant when she realized that her hair, which was now well past her shoulders and could potentially give her away to her close friend, was hanging down. She ducked into a small alley, tied her hair into a tight bun, tugged a few strands out to frame her face, before finally pulling a black, knit beanie out of her back pocket and over her hair.

She quickly used a window's reflection to check her disguise and absentmindedly patted her beanie but scrunched up her face in annoyance at her pale features. She had never quite been happy with the way she looked, especially after meeting the flawless, "I-have-no-visible-pores," Thea Queen.

Sin pushed open the doors to Verdant, a plan forming in her mind as she scanned the club and its scant amount of patrons. She quickly strode to the long bar that lined the side of the building, practically falling onto one of the barstools with a heavy sigh.

"What can I help you with?"  Roy asked automatically, not even turning around.

"I don't know," Sin said, deciding to have some fun by lowering her voice's pitch slightly. "Just a light beer I guess: my friend's being a bit of a jerk but, hey, what'cha' gonna' do?"

When he merely grunted in response and moved farther down the bar to get her beer and to talk to a middle-aged man who had just sat down--all without so much as glancing at her--Sin rolled her eyes, rising slightly out of her seat. She leaned across the bar-top, angling her body towards Roy. "Got any suggestions, Abercrombie?"

The bartender froze in his tracks, his hand outstretched to grab her beer and his back seemed to stiffen, his shoulders tensing at the sound of her voice. Roy slowly turned around, his face apprehensive at first but it lit up when he saw her. He double-checked her features, quickly scanning her form stretched out over the bar-top in a way that Sin wasn't certain platonic friends should look at one another--but she, frankly, did not give a damn. She managed a small smirk, though that quickly became a genuine smile that mirrored the one that broke out on his face.

Roy vaulted over the counter, much to the irritation of the middle-aged customer, and he practically ran to where she was leaning against the bar. He stopped only a few feet in front of her, his dark blonde hair messy from the short dash over to her. She smirked and started patting it back down, trying to conceal her blush due to their close proximity. Roy didn't say anything, but pulled her into a tight hug, his arms wrapping around her waist.

Sin let herself relax for the first time in four months, the light scent of his cologne floating up to her nose, although she narrowly avoided wincing as her wounded arm throbbed. She felt his arms squeeze her even tighter and he buried his face in the bend of her neck. Sin wanted to enjoy this warm feeling forever, but she stepped back, becoming painfully aware that they were in a public place.

"Geez, Abercrombie," she teased softly, trying to ignore the chill that came over her body as Roy gingerly released her, taking his body heat with him. "You're acting like I just came back from the dead!"

The bartender-slash-vigilante laughed at her quip, but the mirth didn't travel to his sad, blue eyes. "I wasn't sure if you would ever come back to Starling."

"Yeah, well the League gave me a day off, so I had them fly me out here," Sn plopped back onto the barstool, thinking,  _Little white lies never hurt anyone. God, I sound like such a cliche._

"Let me take you to lunch, my shift is over anyway," Roy said, as he continued to look her over, causing her to squirm nearly imperceptibly in her seat.

"Sure, just not around the docks," she agreed with a smirk.

Roy just beamed in response and practically dragged her out the door of Verdant, waving at the bartender who had clearly just started his shift. Sin laughed at his behavior as they started making their way towards the nearest Big Belly Burger a few blocks down the street.

Once they had sat down, a too perky waitress bounced over to their table, a pen in one hand and a tray with two glasses of water in the other. "Well, aren't you two just the most adorable couple!"

"If they're a couple, then I think I am supposed to be single again," Thea scoffed, breezing past the waitress and cozying up against Roy Harper. "I don't think that's the case though," she planted a lengthy kiss on her boyfriend's lips, much to the obvious discomfort of the waitress, who quickly scurried away, a downtrodden look on her face.

"Yeah, 'cause a friend who just came back from training with master assassins for four months sounds crazy," Sin whispered sarcastically, crossing her arms in front of her chest, unknowingly enhancing her cleavage due to her low-cut tank top. She didn't notice Roy very obviously trying not to stare when Thea released him from her hold.

"Speaking of which," the younger Queen asked, "why are you here?"

"I got a day off," Sin retorted defensively, "and I wanted to say hi to my  _friend_."

Thea forced a tight smile, before turning to kiss Roy once again in a brash display of PDA that made Sin look away in disgust. "Well, this has been fun, but I should be going," the brunette sighed, seemingly out of breath, sauntering out the door and leaving behind a red-faced Roy.

"Sorry about that," Roy muttered weakly, staring at his plate as the waitress returned with their orders. The uncomfortable tension sucked all of the joy out of their reunion, leaving the two friends fidgeting in their seats.

"Yeah, that wasn't awkward at all," Sin growled sarcastically, staring daggers at a chip in the formica tabletop. She had not planned on seeing Thea Queen today, and she had been forcefully reminded once more of the complicated relationship between Roy and Thea, and although her heart had sunk at seeing them together, she was grateful to at least look in Roy's eyes and see friendship there.

"Where'd your friend go?" The waitress asked, putting a plate in front of Sin.

"She had other business to attend to," the young woman said, picking at the fries in front of her.

The waitress seemed to accept this as a reasonable response and left the two friends in a tense silence. However, when she reached the kitchen door, she nodded in their direction, whispering to one of the other waitresses conspiratorially, causing the two of them to giggle as they disappeared into the kitchen.

"Sin," Roy was the one to make the first move, running his hands through his hair and his eyes sheepishly flitting to and away from Sin's face.

"Don't apologize for her, Harper," Sin replied tersely, throwing her hands up. "She knows what she's doing, and it doesn't involve you. Besides, I came here to make-up for a fight, not get into a whole new one...can't we just talk about something else?"

Roy nodded silently, a smirk tugging at his lips. "How many nicknames does one person need?"

Sin laughed quietly, finally starting to eat the burger she ordered and shrugging her shoulders in response, a smile adorning her face once more.

"Although I don't think 'Harper' is as horrible a nickname as 'Abercrombie,'" He joked with a grin.

"Oh please," Sin rolled her eyes, her smile finally reaching her eyes. "You know you love that nickname. But you just don't want to admit it to anyone."

"I  _tolerate_ it at best, but I  _definitely_ do not love it," he paused, looking at his food before looking up at her again. "The closes I even get to liking it is when you call me that."

She fought back a blush, quickly opting instead for throwing a French fry at his forehead. His grin turned childish and he popped the fry into his mouth, a satisfied look on his face. "Thank you for that!" he chirped smugly through the food in his mouth.

Sin merely rolled her eyes and started eating her burger like she hadn't eaten in months.  _Which is partially true,_ she thought, sinking her teeth into the delicious sandwich, closing her eyes as she did so and a pleasurable sigh barely escaping her lips.

Thankfully, the rest of the lunch passed without any more awkwardness or surprise visits from ex-best friends. Afterwards, the two started back towards the club with Sin following in silence, this time it was a comfortable one instead of a tense one.

"I should be going," Sin said with a heavy heart, but keeping her disappointment out of her voice. "Rat--my uncle wanted me back a while ago."

"So much for a full day off," Roy scoffed, turning to look at his friend, the sad glaze returning to his blue eyes. "Come see me when you get a day off again, okay?"

Sin's chest felt like it was cracking at his sincere tone.  _I'm sorry Roy...but I don't think you'll want to see me anytime soon. I'm supposed to kill you, after all._ She tried to force the words out of her system--a warning, an apology,  _anything_ that could service as a goodbye--but she only looked at her feet. When she heard him start to walk back into the club, she straightened up, a slight smirk lighting up her features.

"Hey Abercrombie!"

He turned around, rolling his eyes but still smiling widely. "I'm going to regret telling you that I don't mind that nickname, aren't I?"

"You absolutely will," she laughed. "But, I actually just wanted to say...that I'm sorry for fighting you on that day. Hopefully, this goodbye makes up for that one."

He didn't say anything, almost like he was afraid that if he did he wouldn't let her leave, so he just pulled her into another hug. The two of them relished the closeness to one another for the brief time that they could be.

Sin stepped away first, her eyes and face hardening quickly thanks to her training with the League. What she didn't realize was that Roy saw her sadness and pain before she could hide away behind her assassin's front. She pulled her leather jacket tighter around herself as she walked away from her friend.

She took one of the back routes, one she had known about from before her training as an assassin, to her apartment. The streets continued to be deserted, despite the clear sky, but the seedy clubs and buildings were buzzing with people. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts--most of which were about Roy Harper for whatever reason--that she didn't see the couple strolling across the street until she ran into them. Literally.

"Watch where you're going!" A familiar female voice reprimanded snootily.

Sin looked up and was staring at the back of Thea Queen's head. The apology died on her tongue as she got a better look at the young woman, and more importantly, who she was with. The younger Queen didn't apparently didn't care too much about her apology, as she quickly disappeared into a run-down motel with a blonde, muscular man, roughly five years older than her.

 _What are you up to, Miss I-love-my-boyfriend-so-much?_ Sin thought cynically, darting across the street to a building and climbing up to the roof. She crouched before the railing and peered over the edge, focusing on the motel.

Thea and the man came into view in a second-floor window, locked in a compromising position. His shirt was already off and Sin winced, looking away as he practically ripped Thea's off. Thankfully, the brunette had the wherewithal to slam the curtains shut before they could progress any further.

Sin was tempted to rush back to Verdant to tell Roy, and she was even jogging towards the club when she stopped dead in her tracks.  _That's low, even for an assassin. I'm better than that...I have to be. Do not let the League turn you into one of them. Being sneaky and conniving won't make this situation any better. This is something Roy and Thea are going to have to work through themselves. Even if she is a hypocrite, a_ cheating  _hypocrite._

"Don't let them do that to you," Sin whispered to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the return of Thea the B! I really hated her when I wrote this (and still do, she's one of my least faves on the show) but I really like writing bratty, awful Thea, she just makes a great foil.
> 
> As always, read, review, give kudos, I appreciate them all!


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another nighttime encounter with the assassin, unnerves Roy. And Sin makes an irrevocable decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're back to decently-sized chapters. A lot goes down in this ch. so bear with me, we're close to the end now!
> 
> Don't worry if updates become slightly more irregular and with longer breaks in between updates. Like I said at the start, this entire story is finished, but NaNoWriMo is currently kicking my butt so updates are going to be sporadic for November.
> 
> Enjoy!

Roy was wiping down the bar for Verdant when Thea sauntered in and disappeared down the back staircase without so much as a cursory glance. He quickly followed her, loosely grabbing her wrist when he got close enough.

"Oh, I see that your little gutter rat friend is gone, so are you ready to act like my actual boyfriend?" She smirked knowingly, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him long and fiercely.

The second her lips touched his, all of Roy's anger at her rudeness towards himself and her former friend melted away and his instincts took over. He pulled her against his body, kissing her back passionately.

"Get a room you guys," Felicity groaned as she spotted the two.

Roy broke off the kiss, blushing furiously and stepping away from the younger Queen sibling. "Sorry, I guess we got caught up in the moment. We should get going."

"Uh, wait one sec," the blonde said, fiddling with her glasses. "Thea, can you head downstairs? There's something that Ray wants to show you, that thing you had us make for you, and I need to talk to Roy...alone, please?"

"Sure thing," Thea agreed, giving her boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek ad sauntering down the stairs with a flip of her hair.

"What's going on, Felicity?" Roy asked, crossing his arms defensively.

"Oliver was going to tell you this in a bit, but I figured you would want to know now," she took a deep breath before continuing. "Thea's replacing you. Well, not really  _replacing,_ but Oliver wants to take 'Speedy' out into the field tonight, and is going to ask you to stay behind. So, I mean, she's not really replacing you as Arsenal just...I'm not helping, am I?"

Roy's face looked like someone had run a truck over it. His mouth opened and closed in rapid succession before he set his jaw in a hard line and could force his response out. "No, I get it. I haven't been on top of things for a while. There have been so many distractions lately, and just some pointless drama but--"

"I know Sin leaving was hard," Felicity interjected, but he cut her off again with a harsh shake of his head.

"It wasn't when she left," he ground out, "because I had come to terms with her leaving a few months ago. But today, she came back...she came back and that was so much worse. I wanted her to return and stay, permanently, or to say that she could visit more regularly. But when she left after only a few hours, it was cold-hearted and cruel, that I wish she hadn't come back at all.

"I know I've been distracted ever since Sin went to join the League of Assassins. But when she returned, it made me realize why she can never be with me--or be content in one place. Not when she lived in the Glades, and certainly not after she became an assassin. I'd rather just move on and be done with her." Roy's anger grew with every word but he held a seed of doubt in his heart. The combination of throwing himself headlong into Thea and being benched by the Arrow right afterwards threw his mind into a tailspin, and he started grasping at whatever he could to fix at least  _one_ of his problems.

"Okay Roy," Felicity replied uncertainly. It was clear she didn't quite believe him, but she (correctly) assumed that he wouldn't appreciate her real thoughts on his relationship with Sin.

The last two members of Team Arrow walked into the headquarters where Laurel, Oliver, and Diggle were all ready for patrol with matching scowls on their faces. Ray Palmer was still in his civilian clothes, and when his phone buzzed--the caller ID showing a picture of a pretty woman with dark hair and bangs--his face lit up in such a way that made Roy's stomach sour. The scientist walked away to take the call, the bright smile never leaving his face.

"What do you think?" Thea sauntered out from the changing room, spinning in a slow circle to show off her new outfit. Her costume consisted of tight, dark reddish-orange pants, and a matching tight, midriff-baring top with one long sleeve and one thin strap. Dark boots matched the transparent mesh that stretched from the low-cut neckline to her collarbone, and a small black mask. "Oliver wants to call me Speedy."

"Uh yeah," Roy stuttered quickly, tearing his eyes away from her alluring costume. He was surprised Oliver was letting her out at night looking like that. "That's a great, uh, name."

"You think?" Thea twisted her hair into a bun and tugged a short, light brown wig over the rest of her hair.

"Time to go," Arrow ordered stoically. "Roy..."

"I know, Felicity already told me the deal," the younger archer growled with a wave of his hand.

The blond vigilante nodded, his serious facade cracking a bit as a little sadness crept into his eyes as he took off with the rest of the team, leaving Roy with the two "nerds."

"Can you guys help me track someone?" He asked hesitantly.  _I really hope Felicity doesn't hold that outburst against me._ "Even if you don't have a name or really anything to go off of?"

"That sounds impossible," Ray said, walking back from where he was taking his phone call, the broad grin only dimming slightly. "But, I'm sure Felicity can figure something out though, right?"

"Uh," Felicity protested her eyes wide, "unless you can give me something else, that actually  _will be_ impossible."

"It's just...the assassin I fought a couple nights ago," Roy explained with a sigh. "She was definitely League of Assassins trained, but she...she wouldn't kill me. I even canvassed the whole area afterwards to see if she would follow me, but I haven't seen her since."

"So, what's the problem?" Felicity asked, drawing out the first word. "Out of sight, out of mind, right?"

"There was just something about the way she moved, and the way she talked--she just seemed so familiar. It was like she knew me. She also said that it, the fight, wasn't a one time thing. She's going to come back, and we need to stay  one step ahead of the League."

Felicity chewed on her lip, exchanging a quick glance with Ray before taking a deep breath as she replied. "Do you think there's a chance, and I mean  _any_ chance, that maybe this new-assassin lady is Sin? I mean didn't you say she just showed back up today, don't you think that's a little too coincidental?"

Roy's heart plummeted, but if Sin had been in town before today, she would have come to see him.  _Wouldn't she have?_ He thought, uncertainly, but he couldn't afford to think like that. "No way. She wouldn't have fought me like that."

The two scientists nodded in unison as Felicity started firing questions about that night, until she was able to plot his patrol route from that night. She worked her Felicity magic on the computers in silence, and after she waded through hours of footage, she found grainy security cam footage of Arsenal's fight with the assassin.

The three vigilantes stood around the screen, watching in silence as Arsenal fought the masked assassin. The fight was short, and before long Felicity was quickly pausing the footage ass the two fighters were at a standstill, the woman's sai nearly cutting his throat.

 _Why didn't she kill me?_ Roy thought, running his hands through his hair.

"She was facing you," Felicity exclaimed, as if that was a great revelation. "And she's standing pretty close, I might add. You must have seen her face or  _something._ "'

Roy shook his head angrily, starting to pace around the lab. He thought back to that fight and the night, more specifically that despite how close the assassin had been, and the real possibility that she could have easily killed him, he hadn't felt threatened...it had felt almost, right. In a weird, slightly off-balance way.

 _Stop it!_ He scolded himself.  _Do not let her worm her way into your brain._

"Uh, Roy?" Ray Palmer asked uncertainly. "Are you okay? And do you have any idea who your attacker could be?"

"No clue, I couldn't see her face through her mask, but judging by her...physique,  I'd guess that she is a young woman in her twenties." He tried not to blush at Ray and Felicity's knowing glances at his observation, or at the fact that he had just put another point in the "Assassin=Sin" category.

"That narrows it down, but barely, since we can't go off hair color because it could easily be a wig. But that might not matter...look." Felicity pointed out an immobile female figure on another one of her monitors with one perfectly manicured nail.

"That's her!" Roy exclaimed, reaching behind his head for his bow, before realizing that he was in his civilian clothes. He cursed under his breath as he slumped back against the table. "5th and D street," he said begrudgingly. "I think that's you, Palmer."

Ray and Felicity quickly put their heads together, having a whispered conversation, with occasional glances back to Roy. The two nodded together, finally turning back towards him. Felicity finally piped up and nodded to the case holding his costume. "This is your fight Roy."

He smiled gratefully and grabbed his bow.

* * *

Sin cautiously opened the window to her old apartment, scanning the darkened room for her uncle. She could make out his form on the couch as he turned to look at her with easily masked disdain, quickly standing up and striding over to her.

"How was your day off?" He asked smoothly, a casual look on her face.

"Cut to the chase  _uncle._ I know you don't care," she retorted, crossing her arms.

"One of my associates was able to procure footage and a feed to your...old friend's club. That feed is on here," he held out a tablet, a mysteriously nonchalant look in his eyes.

Sin took the tablet slowly, her hope at seeing Roy again--she never truly realized how much she missed him until she had to walk away from him today--was buried deep under a layer of blatant distrust. "Cindy Terrin is dead. Why would Cheshire want to see a reminder of  _Cindy'_ _s_ life?"

Rattlesnake chuckled quietly, and started towards the door. "Correct."

The door slammed shut,  leaving Sin to exhale slightly and her posture loosening up but her grip on the tablet tightened until her knuckles turned white. She grabbed a bag with her uniform and weapons, tucked the tablet under her arm, and disappeared back out onto the fire escape. She dashed back up to the roof and across the rooftops.

She only stopped her mad dash into the night when she found an empty roof with enough shadows and corners to hide her from any prying security cameras. Sin dropped her bag and sat down cross-legged next to it, her back against a huge air conditioning installation. She pressed the tablet's center button, bringing the screen to life, a single square in the center of the screen was the only thing that disturbed the darkness. The feed to Verdant's back hallway filled her vision, but she had to tear her eyes away from the scene.

 _I can't believe they're still together,_ Sin thought, realizing she was only slightly surprised. Although she returned her attention to the screen when Felicity entered, and Thea finally disconnected her mouth from Roy's.

Her heart sank for her friend as she heard that Thea was sort-of replacing him. She wanted to be there to comfort or support him, but she didn't dare to because it might reveal her true purpose and motives in Starling City.

 _I know Sin leaving was hard._ The mention of her name made Sin's ears prick up. She forced herself to focus as Roy responded.

 _It wasn't when she left_ , he started, and Sin was momentarily confused until he continued. _Because I had come to terms with her leaving a few months ago. But today, she came back...she came back and that was so much worse._  Her heart became a dull, throbbing organ pumping sheer pain through her body, when she realized how much she had hurt him by her choices. _I wanted her to return and stay, permanently, or to say that she could visit more regularly. But when she left after only a few hours, it was cold-hearted and cruel, that I wish she hadn't come back at all._

Tears rolled down her cheeks in silence as her friend's harsh, tinny words filled her ears and mind, and confirmed her worst fears: the League had made her different, if not in her own mind, but in the eyes of her friends.

_I know I've been distracted ever since Sin went to join the League of Assassins. But when she returned, it made me realize why she can never be with me--or be content in one place. Not when she lived in the Glades, and certainly not after she became an assassin. I'd rather just move on and be done with her._

 His last sentence felt like a dagger had ripped a deep chasm down the center of her heart. She was supposed to be a cold, stone-faced assassin but she couldn't stop stupid and fierce Roy Harper from creeping into her mind, and it was the idea of him that kept her from the brink of the darkness as she struggled against the magical parasite that tried to turn her that heartless assassin.

 _This goes deeper than friendship,_ Sin realized, taking a shaky breath in and out.  _I care about Roy. When he saved me that night after Sara died, it was the one time I didn't quite mind having a protector. I remember that flutter in my stomach every time we hugged, and when I saw him earlier today, after all those months, it was the only time I'd forgotten about being part of the League, and could just be myself for a few hours._ Her mind became so scrambled and overwhelmed with memories of Roy that only one comprehensive thought filled her ears with such pounding truth that her head started to throb.  _I love Roy Harper--but he doesn't want me._

Her blood boiled with a terrible mix of anger and sadness that filled her whole mind, body, and soul. The unshed tears dried up in her eyes as she yanked the bag open and she grabbed her sword. Her Cheshire mask seemed to smile up at her tauntingly.

* * *

Roy stepped out on the rooftop and loaded his bow when he saw the crouching assassin, her back to him as she watched the gloomy city. After a moment's hesitation, he loosed the arrow, sending it hurtling in her direction.

In a burst of movement, the masked figure sliced the arrow out of the air and had turned to face the vigilante. She gripped her katana so tight, the leather of her gloves stretching taut over her knuckles. She leaped towards him, swinging her sword, her body language showing her rage, causing him to become a little uncertain about how smart it was to confront her.

The woman slashed his bow in half and cut through his costume, but thankfully the slice only barely grazed the skin of his abdomen. Arsenal brought up his fists in a defensive position, and kneed her in the stomach. She swung her sword at his head, but he promptly ducked and tried to kick her shins, getting her legs out from under her, but she swiftly danced out of his reach. The gauntlets on his wrists protected his hands from being sliced off by her katana and he managed to bash the side of her head a few times. Her fighting became more erratic as she violently lashed out with her sword, and because of her rage, Arsenal was able to get in more blows despite his lack of a weapon. He managed to grab an arrow from the quiver on his back, his arm darting out, the metal tip ripping through her sleeve and tearing a deep gash into her forearm. The blood poured out of the deep wound and the sight of it stunned them both, but Arsenal was only stopped for the briefest of moments.

As the adrenaline continued to pump through his veins like blood, he ducked under her sword, plunged the arrow into her shoulder, and knocked her out with a swift punch to the head, a familiar burst of white-hot energy and power surging through him.

She slumped to the rooftop limply and Roy came out of his haze in a panic.

 _No...NO!_ He screamed in his head, when he realized what he had done.  _It happened again...the Mirakuru..._ He bent down next to the assassin, pulling his hood down as he did so. Arsenal went to remove her mask, but stopped just as his hand touched the front.  _Seeing her face will just give her an identity and make this worse. Besides, I don't know if I would be able to handle the guilt if she actually is Sin._ Roy took a strand of black hair i his fingers, and a strange thought wandered into his mind: what would it be like to run his fingers through Sin's hair. He shook his head--he had no right to be thinking about Sin when he had just lost control and seriously injured the woman lying on the roof, even if she was an assassin.

He made sure that the assassin's chest was rising and falling, if shallowly, as he pulled his hood back over his face. He straightened up, taking a few shaky steps back to where he had come from, before he started running towards Verdant.

Roy was out of breath when he reached the club and doubled over in exhaustion when he reached the headquarters, the adrenaline finally draining from her system. Felicity and Ray Palmer gaped when they saw his panicked face and bloodstained hands.

"What happened?" Felicity asked, starting to babble while Ray looked like he might be in shock. "Are you okay, because you look terrible."

"None of this is your blood, is it?" Ray took a quick survey of the archer's body position and attire, but didn't see any injuries other than the minor graze on his abdomen.

The billionaire scientist's suspicions were only confirmed when the young man hung his head in embarrassment and murmured, "It's her blood."

Neither Palmer nor Felicity had to ask which  _her_ he was talking about.

"What did you do to her?" Felicity gasped, placing her hand over her mouth and tears welling up in her blue eyes. He could tell she was shocked at the sheer amount of blood on her friend, despite the violent scrapes Oliver frequently got himself into.

"She's still on that rooftop," Roy ignored Felicity's question, his shame all too present on his face. "I can't go back there. Someone could have seen me, the police--"

"I'll send Laurel," Felicity interrupted and turned to speak into the microphone connecting her to the Black Canary. "Laurel, I need you to head to the rooftop of the building at the corner of 5th and D."

 _Copy that,_ came the static-filled reply.  _What am I looking for?_

"A female member of the League of Assassins is unconscious there, probably...bleeding a lot. Just bring her back to Verdant quickly and stop as much bleeding as you can."

_I'll radio when I find her._

Roy dropped his head into his hands and sighed deeply, his face as white as a sheet.

"What did he do to her?" Ray whispered to the blonde, who released another gasp when she pointed to the monitor showing the security feed from the rooftop.

* * *

Sin's arm throbbed painfully, but it paled in comparison to the agony that flared in her shoulder and entire right side of her body as Arsenal plunged the arrow into her collarbone. Her head became fuzzy as she fell to the ground and when he hit her on the side of the head, she quickly decided to pretend to be unconscious--not a difficult feat since she was close to actually passing out.

A soft gasp filtered through the white noise filling Sin's ears as her vigilante friend crouched next to her.  _I guess...I guess he was right...about the Mirakuru,_ she thought hazily, remembering when he refused to train her months ago. She stiffened imperceptibly and held her breath when she felt his hand touch her mask.  _If he uncovers who--what I am...I'll lose him forever._ And despite that they had just tried to seriously injure, almost kill one another, she didn't want him out of her life.

Thankfully, his hand moved from her mask and she felt his fingers lightly skimming through her hair. She relaxed slightly, but she only mustered the strength to open her eyes when she heard the metal door to the building slam shut, using its loud noise to release a small cry of pain.

The League had taught her to ignore the pain, but Sin couldn't help the tears that unconsciously fell as the fire in her arm reignited the moment she moved. With the determination she was infamous for, Sin grabbed the sai from her sleeve and sliced the arrow's shaft with a violent jerk of her hand. The jolt pushed the arrowhead deeper into her flesh, but Sin barely managed to contain a scream, staggering to her feet.

It took the would-be assassin five or so minutes to hobble over to the door and down the steps. Arsenal's footsteps were faint, but she knew he was headed to the Arrow's headquarters. She managed to follow him on foot for several seconds, until the pain in her arm nearly made her faint and she had to lean against the building for support.

 _I can't feel my arm...or an entire half of my body._ Sin pressed her hand against her shoulder, but felt blood oozing out from between her fingers and dripping onto the pavement. Her head spun, and she removed her mask to press her sweaty face against the cool brick of the building.

A hand tapped her shoulder, and Sin quickly put her mask back on as she spun around, throwing a blind punch with her left hand. She cursed herself for being so distracted by her pain that she let someone sneak up on her. The black, leather-clad blonde easily dodged her attack but didn't retaliate, choosing instead to just stand there, watching the young assassin.

"You need help," Black Canary said matter-of-factly, her voice electronically distorted.

Sin didn't respond but quickly lashed out, kicking her feet towards the vigilante's abdomen. "I don't need your help!" She yelled, her anger overriding her reasonable thoughts.  _If Roy thinks I'm just an assassin, then let me be one. I can finish my mission._ Cheshire blocked one of the Canary's punches and pulled a small tracking device out of her sleeve when the vigilante was turning around to deliver a sharp spin kick.

Cheshire staggered back when the Black Canary's heel connected with her stomach and she quickly planted the device on her shoe. She fell against the building, her entire body throbbing and she dropped a smoke bomb as she did so.

She scampered up to the rooftops, once more starting to run across the roofs, heading further into the Glades and calling her uncle as she did so. "I placed a tracker on the Black Canary. You can follow her back to the Arrow's headquarters."

 _Well done, Cheshire,_ her uncle's slimy voice filtered through her earpiece.  _Ra's will be very proud._

"Don't kill them yet," she replied, her voice steely with anger.

_Of course not. Ra's has special plans for the rest of Arrow's team. He is even thinking about flying his daughter and his closest guards out here as soon as he hears of this news. You did well, Cheshire._

Sin felt a brief pang of regret when the praise from Rattlesnake filled her ears, but when she remembered the harsh words the only friend she thought she had left in the whole world had said about her, that regret shrunk to a small seed inside her heart.  _I'll show Nyssa and Ra's that I can be part of the League._

Sin pulled out the handheld monitor that showed the path Black Canary was taking, trailing all the way back to Verdant.  _Of course,_ she thought, removing her mask and running her fingers through her long hair.  _R--Harper was always disappearing there, and Oliver started renovating the club once he got back from the island. God, I should have put that together earlier...I'm such an idiot!_

She heard the sounds of commotion filtering through her earpiece, but every so often, the shouts and grunts of the Arrow and his team rang out. Sin had gone into a type of trance when Rattlesnake's voice filtered through, demanding for her to meet him at the warehouse that was currently holding the majority of Team Arrow and the assassins who had taken them. The League of Assassins had started installing complicated lock systems and security measures when they had first arrived in Starling.

 _Wonderful,_ Sin thought to herself, replacing her mask and readying herself to face the friends she had just betrayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry (kinda, not really) about that cliffhanger, but everything is starting to come together and go down!! I can't wait for you guys to read the last few chapters!
> 
> If you need a visual for Thea's "Speedy" costume, the basis is Artemis' uniform from Young Justice
> 
> As always, please review and leave kudos, I appreciate all of them immensely!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel deals with the aftermath of the assassin's and Arsenal's confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's a slight POV change, but I have always thought that the Dinah (Laurel) Lance was majorly short-changed on Arrow. Also, Green Arrow and Black Canary are a DC Power Couple and nothing can change my mind about that.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to DC or the Arrow TV show.
> 
> Enjoy!

Laurel followed Felicity's instructions to the rooftop of the building at the intersection of 5th and D Street. She adjusted her small black mask and blonde wig, still a little uncomfortable at taking over her sister's moniker. However, normally, the amateur vigilante wasn't this anxious, but something about Felicity's voice had thrown her off her game and the Black Canary was worried about what she might find.

Climbing the stairs to the rooftop, Laurel chewed her lip and tracked the faint bloodstains that lead to a pool of the dark red liquid.  _This must be the assassin's. What happened here?_ Laurel thought, slightly concerned for the assassin's well-being, and--if she was being honest--a little scared of her teammate and his capabilities. She had heard from Ollie about Roy's Mirakuru-berserker spree from a year or so ago, but she could never quite believe the amount of damage he could have done until she saw the blood staining the rooftop gravel. Even if the blood belonged to an assassin, she didn't wish the guilt of inadvertently killing a person on her teammate.

 _She's already gone,_ Black Canary started retracing her steps into the streets and was searching the surrounding buildings when she spotted a slim, shadowed figure leaning against a building as blood dripped onto the pavement.

Laurel tapped the young assassin on the shoulder, making sure her voice was disguised but had to quickly block a jab towards her chin. "You need help," she stated, reaching out a hand to help the young woman.

"I don't need your help!" The assassin shouted, emotion clearly fueling her words and distorting her voice so much she could barely understand what she was saying. Her long black hair obscured her features as she kicked out towards the Canary's stomach and the vigilante struck out, out of instinct.

Laurel spun around, gearing up for a powerful spin kick she had just learned from Ted Grant, but she felt a pang of regret when she felt her heel push all the air out of the young assassin's abdomen. When the momentum from her spin carried her back around and she found herself facing an empty wall.

Black Canary sighed, pressing her finger to her earpiece. "Felicity, we've got a problem. She wasn't on the rooftop, but I managed to find her, but now--she disappeared."

She heard the hacker sigh through the radio.  _Just head back to Verdant, almost everyone's coming in from patrol now anyways. Although Dig did already go home early to look after Sara. Ray and I are going to head to Palmer Tech to see if we can track her using those satellites, but I think he really just wants to see Lily. Roy's still at the club and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid._

"I'll be sure to check up on him," Laurel reassured her as she started running back towards the nightclub. When she reached Verdant's basement door, she started taking off her mask and wig as she entered the Arrow's hideout.

"Hey, how was your night?" Oliver asked, coming over to stand by her, still in his Arrow outfit but with his mask off and hood down. "You look exhausted."

"Always the charmer, Ollie," she quipped sarcastically with a smirk. She tried to ignore a little flutter in her stomach when she heard the concern in his voice, because she didn't want to get her hopes up. Oliver was just making sure that she was good to go on patrol and had no major injuries that would keep her from helping this city.

Oliver chuckled softly, "But, really, is everything...fine with you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Roy?" She asked, scanning the room to avoid Oliver's intense gaze. "Felicity wants me to check up on him, to make sure that this assassin business isn't weighing on him too much."

"Well, it's nice that you're looking out for him," Ollie replied, putting his bow away as she unpacked all her own gear. "He doesn't get rattled that easily, but something about these past few months has made me worried about him too."

"I'll be right back," she whispered when she spotted Roy, in his Arsenal get-up, leaning against one of the counters and staring blankly at his hands. "Roy, are you sure you're okay? What happened earlier?"

Before he could answer, Speedy sauntered in, a smirk on her face when she glanced at Roy, but she brushed right past the two of them. "Is there something going on between the two of you?" Laurel asked, glancing between Roy and Thea.

"Just don't," he growled. "Don't pretend to know me or that you can get me to talk about my life; it's not going to work."

The lawyer bristled, but she didn't get the chance to respond. The door at the top of the steps opened with a  _bang_ and a dozen League of Assassin members rand down the stairs, their hoods obscuring their faces and their weapons pointed at the team.

The leader stepped forward, his voice gruff and harsh. "The League of Assassins wishes to see you. All of you... _now!_ But to the Arrow," he paused, his unsettling gaze resting on the blond vigilante. "Ra's wants to personally meet with you."

"If you think that you can just come in here and expect us to come with you without a fight..." Laurel started, standing up and balling her fists angrily.

"Then you have no idea who you're talking to," Oliver finished, grabbing his bow and aiming an arrow at the leader.

The leader waved his hand and the assassins converged on the four vigilantes. The fight was quick, because although the team was skilled and worked well together, the assassins outnumbered them three to one and before long, the assassins were hauling Verdant.

Laurel struggled against the bonds on encircling her hands as she was shoved into a van with the rest of her team. Oliver was shoved next to her, and Roy and Thea were thrown across from the two, bruises adorning all of their faces and bodies.

"Where are they taking us?" Thea asked fearfully, her eyes wide and she looked at her brother with concern.

Oliver's eyes and voice softened when he caught sight of his frightened sister. "I don't know. Just keep calm, we'll get out of this."

Thea nodded and seemed to be holding back tears as she leaned her head against the cool metal of the van's wall. Roy looked between his on-and-off girlfriend and his mentor hesitantly, his face full of confusion and fear--he also wasn't particularly used to dealing with this kind of circumstance.

Laurel was feeling even more nervous and fidgety, she had just started going out as the Black Canary only a few months ago and the League of Assassins, frankly, terrified. She knew what they had done to her sister and she feared what they did to new recruits like Sin, but she was even more worried about what they would do to Oliver and the team.

Ollie must have noticed her anxiety because he reached over and squeezed her fingers, or as much as he could with bound hands. "We can still fight back," he whispered, his hard eyes darting around the van, obviously looking for an escape route.

"Of course," she replied, her fear dissipating and her anger started to rise. "Whenever they let us out, we fight."

Oliver nodded and seemed to relax for a few moments until his eyes widened and he suddenly became even more tense than she thought was possible. "Felicity, Diggle," he whispered, his eyes darting around the van's interior. "They're still out there, right?"

"Ray is too," Laurel added, her voice barely audible. "They're at Palmer Technologies, but you're forgetting that the League took all of our comms; we have no way to reach them."

The Arrow hung his head, his expression twisted in frustration, and the team rode the rest of the way to... _wherever_ the League was taking them, in silence.

The van jerked to a stop and the four vigilantes tumbled on top of one another. Assassins grabbed each member of the team and hauled them into an empty warehouse. Oliver, Laurel, and Roy struggled against their captors, nearly breaking free a few times, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in any attempts to escape their bonds. Thea just went limp in the arms of the assassins and nearly started breaking down when the assassins roughly tied her to a chair along with the rest of the team.

"Team Arrow," the lead assassin gloated, crouching down to be eye level with the Arrow. "All of you in one place at the same time. Ra's will be extremely proud. He will be arriving shortly." He turned away, appeared to remember something important and turned back around. "It seems like I forgot to introduce you to who was responsible for this very moment."

A slim figure emerged from the shadows, her short, dark green dress stood out amongst the darkly clad assassins. The dark stain on her shoulder tipped Laurel off that this was the woman both she and Roy had fought that night. Her face was obscured by the red and white mask she wore, but it was turned towards the ground, and she pushed her dark hair over her shoulder when the lead assassin placed a hand on her back.

"Don't be afraid to show yourself," he smirked, glancing briefly at Arsenal, before his eyes returned to the assassin.

Laurel couldn't see the assassin's eyes, but something changed in her demeanor and when she straightened up, the Black Canary was anxious to see who was under the mask.

The assassin removed her mask and Roy ripped his bonds to shreds, lunged across the room, and started throttling the lead assassin mercilessly, his voice shaking with anger. "How could you do this to her? How...?"

Laurel's eyes widened in shock, Thea's mouth hung open, nearly to the floor, and Oliver started growling and gritting his teeth. When Roy released the man and jumped on the young woman, his eyes were ablaze with anger.

"What happened to you? You swore you wouldn't change...how could  _you_ do this to me?" He shook his friend, tears starting to stream down his face, but his eyes held a fiery and dead-like glaze as he wrapped his hands around her throat and started to squeeze.

"Roy!" Oliver and Laurel shouted in unison as the girl started to turn blue and bruises began to form on her neck.

Sin stared at him defiantly, her face refusing to show any emotion and the blankness of her expression chilled Laurel to the core.  _This is what happened to Sara. This is what happened to both of my sisters!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this wasn't a huge reveal, but I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. We're in the homestretch now, only a few more chapters left!
> 
> As always, please read and review and leave kudos, I appreciate them all!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sin has to face the ones she betrayed and realizes she needs to make a decision. Roy is faced with the reality of the situation the Team is in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost at the finale here! I really hope you guys are still enjoying and thanks to everyone who is still reading this weird, rarepair story of mine!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Arrow TV show or DC comics.
> 
> Enjoy!

Rattlesnake slapped her back and Sin nervously fidgeted with her dark hair. She peered out from behind her mask, scanning her old friends' faces--Oliver was staring down her uncle with the trademark Arrow intensity; Thea looked like she was near tears; Laurel seemed to be analyzing her stance and trying to decipher her identity; and Roy was staring at her shoulder, which was still dripping blood, with a look of barely-contained horror on his face.

"Don't be afraid to show yourself," Rattlesnake said slyly, his voice betraying a hint of joy at seeing Sin unveil her betrayal.

 _I can't let myself run scared from the Arrow and Arsenal,_ Sin thought, straightening up and tentatively removing her Cheshire mask.  _They were going to find out at one point or another._

Her eyes briefly landed on Roy Harper and they tried to convey her apologetic feelings but widened when his face twisted into a mask of anger. Something like his Mirakuru-rage kicked in and he ripped through the ropes tying his arms down like they were made of wet paper, throwing himself at Sin's uncle.

"How could you do this to her?" He shouted, landing several punches on Rattlesnake's body. "How...?" Something in Roy's face made Sin take a minuscule step farther away from him.

Sin quickly scanned Team Arrow's faces, but her own face hardened when she saw Thea Queen's expression transform from one of shock to a smug one.  _I will not let her see me cower or run scared._

"What happened to you?" Roy shouted, turning away from Rattlesnake, his bright blue eyes landing on her. "You swore you wouldn't change...how could  _you_ do this to me?"

The tears welling up in his eye shocked Sin into remembering the promise she made before she went to the League of Assassins. But when his hands wrapped around her pale throat and squeezed, she saw a glaze settle over his eyes and knew, in her gut, that his Mirakuru-rage kicked in for the second (probably the third) time that night.

"Roy!" Arrow and Black Canary yelled at the same time, reprimanding the young vigilante.

Sin finally allowed herself to let out small gasps for air and gripped his hands desperately as her vision started to fade and her head tilted back as unconsciousness was about to take her...

All at once, her sight returned and oxygen flooded her lungs, she bent over slightly but quickly straightened up, staring at her friend with dark and nearly expressionless eyes.

Rattlesnake clubbed a terrified Roy Harper into unconsciousness and a few members of the League re-tied him to his chair.

Laurel was staring at Sin like she had three heads, but with a sadness about her eyes as the young assassin was led out of the warehouse by her uncle.

"You did well in there," he smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder once more, purposefully ignoring the blood that continued to ooze out of her other shoulder. "I didn't expect Arsenal to react so violently. Is there something about your... _relationship_ that I should know?"

"We used to be friends, but not anymore," she said stoically, turning around and boldly walking out of the warehouse without a look back.

Once she was out of her uncle's sight, Sin clamped a hand to her shoulder and gritted her teeth in pain. She yanked off her gloves, trying to mop up some of the blood still dripping from the wound, a wound her best friend had unknowingly given her.

Sin didn't think that Rattlesnake would need her for the rest of the night, so she started jogging up to her old apartment. Once she painfully swung herself into her old room, she tore off her mask and quickly shimmied out of her costume into comfortable leggings and a tank top. She opened up her old first aid kit, pulling it from its hiding place under a loose tile, unwinding the gauze bandages, and uncorking a bottle of alcohol with her teeth. Sin closed her eyes as she poured the drink over her shoulder, cleaning out the blood from her injury. A sharp, shooting pain radiated throughout the entire right side of her body, her vision fading as the pain was amplified, but her League training kicked in and she bit her tongue, forcing the discomfort into the back of her mind.

Once she had wrapped her shoulder and the bleeding had stopped, Sin wandered back to her old cot in the corner of the apartment. She rubbed her eyes, the crushing weight of the night's emotional trauma hitting her all at once as she flopped on her back, throwing her good arm over her eyes.

 _If the Rattlesnake finds out that I had--have feelings for Roy and couldn't kill him because of it,_ she reflected on her very first fight with Arsenal,  _Ra's would just exact his own vengeance on everyone else I possibly cared  about or even talked to in my old life. And he would kill the both of us, at the very least. But if I keep my distance from him and be an assassin to make sure Rattlesnake doesn't find out, then I'll chew my insides up; yet Arsenal will still come after me, and Oliver and Laurel won't be able to stop him._

_So I'm dead either way._

Sin tried to fall asleep, but her thoughts were too scattered to put to rest, and there was some lump underneath the cot that was preventing her back from lying flat against her thin mattress. Her hands fumbled around until they hit a small ball of cloth. She unfolded the t-shirt and stared at it in shock for roughly five minutes.

She clamped a hand over her mouth as if to shove the gasp back down her throat. Her dark eyes zeroed in on the small, dark spots trailing down the back of the shirt and staining the collar. One hand unconsciously felt her abdomen as a familiar pain started to throb through her ribs.

Sin recognized the t-shirt as one of Roy's.  _It was from that night, four months ago._ She realized, staring at the bloodstains.  _This one...must have been from my split lip,_ she touched the collar lightly, and then her fingers moved to the spots on the back.  _I must have been cut all up my spine._ Remembering how her back slammed into the pavement that night and how she could feel the sting through her jacket.

 _Roy, he was so kind to me that night. He saved me from those thugs and carried me all the way to his place while I was passed out and helpless. He fixed me up without any questions but let me leave that morning because it's what I wanted, even though I could tell that he wanted me to stay._ She shook her head, tightening her grip on the shirt. " _Stop it! I'm not supposed to have feelings for him anymore, plus he hates me--Roy definitely made that clear tonight._ "

Sin rolled over onto her side, pulling the t-shirt closer to her chest and breathing in its slight scent that reminded her of Roy somehow, despite the fact that it was tinged with the iron smell of blood.

* * *

Roy Harper woke up inside a dark, cold, but dry cell, with a pounding ache that seemed to push his skull to its breaking point. His heart sunk when eh remembered Sin's face hardening as she unmasked, but his stomach started to boil at the realization that Felicity had been right, that Sin was the one who had turned against him.

"Roy?" He heard Thea call from a few feet to his right. Roy's eyes were having trouble adapting to the darkness of the cells. "Roy! Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he grumbled, rubbing his head. "Just a major headache, are you okay?"

"Just scared," the brunette was huddled in the back corner of the cell, with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

"It's okay, Thea," Laurel said from her own cell across the hallway. Her blonde hair was tangled in front of her face and she was nervously glancing at Oliver in the cell next to hers. "Ollie--Oliver, how are we going to get out of here?"

The blonde vigilante sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. He was opening his mouth when an iron door slammed open and the lead assassin walked in, his hood pulled down from his face which was adorned with a cruel smirk.

"Finally awake, Red?" He sneered, banging on the cell bars loudly.

Hearing the assassin call him "Red," Roy's anger took over and he launched himself at the iron bars. "What do you want with us?" The Mirakuru started to boil in his blood and his vision went hazy and tinged with red.

"I don't need anything from  _you,_ vigilante," the assassin continued, turning towards Oliver. "But Ra's al Ghoul has been wishing to meet with the Arrow for quite some time now. Unfortunately, the Daemon has strict policies against leaving his home, and we will have to transport you, Mr. Queen, back to Ra's al Ghoul, within the next week."

Laurel and Roy immediately started to protest at the top of their lungs, while Oliver silently glared at the man. Thea looked at her older brother with tears in her eyes, but her face hardened when the lead assassin turned towards her cell. "No words to save your brother?" He taunted coldly.

"He doesn't need me to fight for him," Thea retorted, standing up for the first time. "He's strong and skilled and he can take you down any time he wants."

The assassin didn't show many signs of distress, but he didn't respond and rushed out the door, slamming it closed.

"Thanks, Speedy," Oliver smirked. "But I don't think that I'm going to be making it past the dozens of well-trained assassins waiting for me outside the door."

"We've taken down armies before," Laurel reassured, her hand moving towards the bars between her's and Oliver's cell before it froze, and she quickly pulled it back to her side. "I'm sure we can take on a few assassins."

Oliver smiled sadly, and Roy noticed the way his eyes lingered on Laurel's downcast face.  _He's so clueless, isn't he?_ He thought with a smirk. His eyes met Oliver's and he glanced between his mentor and the Black Canary, trying to get the blond to reassure Laurel, but Oliver merely turned to look at her once more.  _He's possibly the most clueless person I've met. Or maybe not...that might be me._ Roy shook his head, as if that would clear his mind. But he was unsuccessful at forgetting Sin's dark eyes boring into his blue ones as his hands closed around her pale throat a few hours ago, and that they still had a challenging and defiant glint to them, almost like she was daring him to kill her. He couldn't forget the way she had looked at him with a blank expression or how much he had wanted to unleash his own fury on those who put it there.

The foursome sat in silence in their cells for hours on end, the innumerable possibilities of what the League might have in store for the rest of the team after the Arrow was taken from them running through  their minds. Roy glanced over at Thea's shaking form next to his cell and felt a rush of sympathy.  _She doesn't know what's going to happen to her or her brother, her first mission was a complete disaster, and now she's been captured by deadly assassins. None of us are feeling that fantastic, to be honest._

Laurel was crouched at the front of her cell, her face set in a determined frown as she reached towards the lock on the outside of her door.

"Laurel..." Oliver started before she hushed him.

She pulled a small pin from the side of her glove, mouthing  _'from Felicity'_ when she noticed everyone staring at her. When the vigilante started to pick the lock, there was a tense silence in the room.

A sharp shock reverberated through the hallway and Laurel fell back onto the ground, clutching her arm. "The locks are electrified, but there's got to be some way to deactivate them." Her face was twisted into a grimace of pain, but she managed to grind out the words.

Before Roy could blink, Oliver was on the other side of his cell and was stretching an arm between the bars. "Are you okay? Let me see your arm." He tentatively grabbed Laurel's wrist to examine her forearm. "Nothing seems too serious," Oliver said clinically, ignoring the blush that rose in the lawyer-vigilante's cheeks. "Although, those burns do need to be treated soon."

"I don't think anyone's coming with aloe anytime soon," Laurel retorted through gritted teeth. "It's okay though, Oliver. I think I can manage for a while, but if we don't find a way out of here soon, these burns could be the least of our problems.

Oliver nodded, but didn't let go of her wrist. "Ray and Felicity might be on their way," he whispered excitedly, locking eyes with each of his team in turn.

"In case you haven't noticed," Thea snapped, "we have no way of contacting them or anyone else on the outside."

Roy nodded in defeat, slumping back against the concrete wall of his cell. He wanted to hope that part of their team would come to break them out of here, but there was the painful possibility that they were going to be on their own from here on out.

* * *

Sin stalked into the warehouse with a scowl on her face that made several League of Assassin members move out of her way. She burst into her uncle's control room in a storm of anger, but muttered a few choice words under her breath when she saw that the dim room was empty.

She quietly and quickly shut the door behind her. Sin sat down in front of the monitors, pushing her hair over her shoulders and finding the security footage for Team Arrow's cells. She turned up the volume as Rattlesnake burst into to the room.  _I need to hear this,_ she thought, leaning in while keeping one eye on the door.

When she heard her uncle taunt Roy by calling him "Red," she clenched and unclenched her fists to calm herself down.  _Take deep breaths...inhale....exhale._ Sin watched her arrogant uncle tease and anger her friends for a few minutes, and was about to rush into that cell hallway when she heard that Ra's al Ghoul wouldn't be coming to Starling.  _What is he playing at? Does that mean that Nyssa won't be coming here either?_ Sin thought somewhat dejectedly--the young woman had been looking forward to seeing her one friend (ally?) in the League again.

"I see you're once again lurking in places you're not supposed to be," the Daemon's daughter said from the doorway.

Sin tried to stop a wide smile from spreading across her face whens eh caught sight of the smirking woman, but failed. "And if anyone catches me I'll disappear--like the Cheshire cat."

Nyssa's smirk widened into a smile, and she sauntered over to the control monitor, studying the screens intently. "I see that Rattlesnake has given Team Arrow the bad news that my father will not be traveling here."

"Yeah, everyone's anxious about what's going to happen to them. I actually am too..." Sin trailed off, looking down bashfully.

"There's no shame in being curious--but you won't like the answer. My father has given your uncle instructions to  _dispose_ of the rest of the team."

Sin's heart sunk down to her feet, but soon her eyes lit up with an angry fire that turned her face into a stony mask. "Where is my uncle?" She asked quietly, but with a tense undertone.

"Ah Cheshire," Rattlesnake's voice called as the door burst open. "I see you've found the security center. Admiring your good work?"

"Wondering about what is going to happen to the rest of the team, actually," Sin responded, crossing her arms as Nyssa slipped into the background, unnoticed. "Any ideas,  _uncle?_ "

"Since you knew them before you were part of the League, I'll tell you that I've been ordered to kill them in a few hours." He said the sentence so casually that it took Sin a minute to register what he was actually saying.

"Of course...you have to," Sin said slowly, but her uncle didn't catch the hint of sarcasm that crept into her voice. "If you don't mind, I think I;m needed elsewhere," she whispered, straightening up and walking out of the room with her head held high, glancing at Nyssa who quickly followed--still completely unnoticed by Rattlesnake.

"I already looped all of the security camera footage from the cell hallway," Nyssa whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Good...I'll be right back," Sin growled, pushing the door open.

The four prisoners all jumped to their feet, staring down the assassin in the doorway and Roy even moved to the front of his cell, shaking with anger. "What are you doing here?" He hissed, his hands gripping the bars.

Without answering, Sin moved closer, her stomach clenching as she was painfully aware that her face was exposed to the people, the friends, she had betrayed.  _But I'm also here to break them out,_ she reassured herself. She quickly glanced at Thea, Oliver, and Laurel, before moving in front of Roy's cell. "You know you're going to be killed in a few hours, don't you?" Sin whispered, her mouth barely moving.

"Of course I do," Roy replied, his eyes narrowing, and he lashed out and grabbed the front of her uniform. "And I know the one who betrayed me,  _putting_ me in this position. You're the one who's killed us,  _Cheshire,_ " he spat the words at her with so much venom that Sin would have rather he just slapped her.

Her whole body was slammed against the bars and she gritted her teeth as her injured shoulder with the iron bars of the cell. "I know you hate me--"

"Is it that obvious?" Roy practically spat, his voice full of sarcasm and disgust.

"And I'm feeling really fond of my choices right now too!" Sin shot back just as sarcastically, trying to ignore the gasp that came from Laurel's cell and the scoff from Thea's. "I might hate myself right now, but I'm actually going to try and fix it." She lowered her voice so that only Roy could hear her if he strained his ears. "I'm going to break you and everyone else out of here before the League has a chance to kill you all."

She felt his grip on her dress loosen slightly but he stared her down unblinkingly. "If you're trying to pull one over me again, Sin..." He trailed off as she pulled down the shoulder of her dress to show the stained bandage still around her shoulder.

"Mirakuru-rage did this to me last night," she whispered unflinchingly. His face fell as he saw how much damage he had done, and she knew she was preying on his guilt, but she needed him to understand that he could trust her. "And I know that if I tried to betray you again, you wouldn't let Oliver's code hold you back. So, what do I have to lose?"

Roy nodded and slowly unclenched his hands from her dress, his eyes still locked on her wounded shoulder, even when she pulled up her sleeve.

Sin raised her voice so that the whole team could hear her. "The security footage we looped is bound to be noticed soon and the locks are electrified--"

"No kidding," Laurel interrupted softly, holding up her burned arm.

Sin looked down and felt the heat start to rise in her cheeks, but she tossed her head back and continued on. "I know that's got to hurt, but everyone's going to need to be on their game if we even have a chance of getting out of here alive. But...I'm going to need help breaking all of you guys out. Is there anyone on the outside we can trust?"

"How do we know we can trust _her_?" Thea exclaimed, her voice breaking as if she was on the verge of tears.

Laurel glanced at Oliver, the two seemed to have a whole conversation with just their eyes and occasional glances at Roy and Sin.

"Roy," Oliver said softly. "You know her best. It's up to you."

Roy's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed her again, pulling her closer and jamming her shoulder even harder against the bars. "Don't even think about double-crossing us..." He didn't get the chance to finish the threat because Sin had stared him in his eyes and cocked one eyebrow in a way so reminiscent of her old self that the words stopped in his throat. He turned to Oliver and gave a curt nod.

"Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, and Ray Palmer can help you," Oliver ground out, much to the protest of Thea.

She yanked herself out of his hands and gave him one last look before walking out of the room.

Sin leaned against the opposite side of the door, her heart beating in her chest. Her eyes landed on Nyssa who was standing in the shadows and her eyebrow rose again. "What?"

"You know I was watching from the security room, correct?" She smirked knowingly.

The young assassin blushed and avoided Nyssa's gaze. "If I had to gain the Team's trust, I needed to convince them that I wasn't a stone-cold assassin--no offense. You know, if you help me break them out, I could help you find that person you love, back in my days on the street I could find almost anyone in Starling."

Nyssa's face fell, and she shook her head. "You can't help me...the person I love is dead."

"I'm sorry. Can you at least tell me their name?"

Nyssa hesitated, and Sin had turned around to leave when the Daemon's daughter called after her. "I loved Sara Lance."

Sin turned around slowly, her mouth  opening and closing a few times before she was able to force the words out. "I kind of understand. I loved Sara too, but probably not the same way you did. We all lost someone that night." As soon as the words left her mouth, she was reminded of a time when a young man said those exact words to her about that exact night, a young man she had betrayed and was now going to try and save.

"There's no chance left for me to find love, but there's still hope for you. I'll help you and your friends get out of here alive."

"Thank you," Sin sighed, her whole face relaxing for a bit before she had to harden her features once more. "I'm glad I have an...ally."

"Friend," Nyssa corrected, a soft smile transforming her face. "I think that by now, you can call me your friend."

Sin couldn't find the words to reply to the reserved woman's statement, and instead seh walked over, placing a hand on Nyssa's shoulder. She met the woman's eyes with a new kind of recognition and admiration for the assassin. Nyssa smiled softly and nodded her head towards the door. "Rattlesnake is going to be wondering where you've gone. He's going to send every assassin in Starling after you."

"I figured," she sighed. "See you on the other side."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are going to be insane! (Not to hype it too much lol). 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has left a kudos or reviewed this story, I appreciate it so much, you have no idea!
> 
> Stay tuned for the final three chapters, I will try and update as soon as I can!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sin finds the help she needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving break (if you celebrate) and here's another chapter to celebrate!
> 
> This is a big one, just an FYI.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Arrow or DC (as always)
> 
> Enjoy!

The top floor of Palmer Technologies was in the midst of a makeover as evidenced by the plastic sheets that were covering the walls and the exposed beams. Boxes were scattered around the room, but standing proudly in the center was the Atom armor, its wiring sticking out and most of its machinery spread out all over the room's counters.

A petite brunette with bangs was tapping away at a trio of computers, tucking a piece of her short hair behind her ear, shouting something indecipherable towards the back of the floor. Ray was nowhere to be seen, but Sin assumed that he was tinkering with his mechanical suit, since she could hear the clank of tools.

She took a deep breath as she jumped from the edge of the roof onto the small balcony level with the top floor. Sin squeezed her eyes tightly shut for a few seconds when her still injured shoulder got a massive jolt from the impact.

The young woman inside let out a yelp and Sin was painfully aware that she was still wearing her Cheshire outfit with blood still staining the left shoulder.

Ray quickly emerged from behind the Atom suit and ran to the brunette's side. "Lily! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

She shook her head and pointed at Sin crouching on the fire escape. "I'm okay, just freaked out a bit. Do you know her, Ray? Is she part of the...?"

"The next time you want to visit us, I'm sure the front door is unlocked," Ray joked, pressing a soft kiss to Lily's head.

"Sorry, but I didn't think you wanted an assassin walking through Palmer Tech," Sin replied, gingerly climbing through the window.

The tech CEO nodded, one eyebrow raised, wrapping an arm around Lily and pulling her close.

"I need your help," Sin said bluntly with a sigh. "Where's Felicity and John  Diggle? I'm going to need their help too."

"They're already on their way here," Ray replied. "What is it you need our help for, exactly?"

The dark-haired assassin winced as she jostled her shoulder. "It takes a bit of explaining. It might just be easier to wait for Diggle and Felicity to get here."

Lily nodded absentmindedly, her eyes still glued to the blood on Sin's shoulder. "I can take a look at your shoulder if you want. I even got a merit badge for First Aid in Girl Scouts when I was little."

"Thanks," she said gratefully, accepting the offered chair and pulling her shoulder down. "I tried to wrap it up myself, but I don't think I did that good a job." Sin nodded at the blood that was seeping down her arm

"You should see what I've had to deal with since I started dating Ray," Lily joked, grabbing a first aid kit and starting to clean the stab wound. "I mean, Roy Harper once came here with two black eyes and blood dripping from his...forehead," she stuttered out the last few words, probably realizing-- _Correctly,_ Sin thought--that she was being a bit morbid.

Sin looked away when Lily mentioned Roy, but she could tell the brunette was staring at her in confusion and concern. Either Lily didn't know about the quasi-almost-relationship between the assassin and the vigilante, or she  _absolutely did_ and knew what she was up to. Either way, her compassion and naively happy energy made her a perfect fit for the similarly bubbly engineer.

Sin's face screwed up in pain as the needle pricked her skin and Lily started sewing her wound shut.

"There! I also got a merit badge in sewing," the brunette exclaimed, wrapping fresh bandages around Sin's shoulder. "Just in time too!"

Diggle pushed open the door and stalked into the room with his usual stoic demeanor, Felicity's heels clacking behind the soldier. "What's going on?"

"Ok," Sin muttered, pushing herself to her feet. "Roy, Thea, Oliver, and Laurel have been kidnapped by the League of Assassins...and I'm the one who gave them to the League."

She was immediately interrupted by an outcry from Felicity, several threats from Ray Palmer and Diggle, and the former pulling Lily towards him protectively, a worried look on the brunette's face.

"Look!" Sin continued, stopping the protests with a shout. "I know I screwed up, but I'm going to break them out  _before_ my  _uncle_ can kill everyone but Oliver. Apparently, Ra's al Ghoul wants Oliver wants to go back to some island."

Felicity gasped and covered her mouth. "You're Sin, right? Roy's...friend from the Glades that disappeared months ago. Wow, I can't believe I've never met or seen you before."

"Yeah, I can't believe it either, and there's a lot more to what happened but it boils down to this..." Sin launched into a shortened version of what had happened to her in the past four months, almost without taking a breath. "Now, the next time I go to that warehouse, I'm going to be up against nearly two dozen well-trained assassins and I figured that I could ask you guys to be my back-up."

"I can see why Roy's always talking about you," Felicity smirked. "You two have that same determination in your eyes whenever you have a plan."

Sin blushed, but looked at Ray and Diggle, glancing at Lily briefly, the question evident in her eyes.

"The Atom suit won't be running for a few days," Lily explained, rubbing Ray's arm comfortingly with a soft smile. "But I'm sure we can still help out from here, right?"

"You don't need to get involved even more than you already are," Ray Palmer muttered, turning to his girlfriend and cupping her face lightly. "I'm sure Felicity and I can handle surveillance and shut down the warehouse's power on our own."

Lily looked like she was about to argue, but she didn't say anything, not moving from Ray's side as she nodded at Sin to continue.

"The locks on the cell doors are electrified too. Can you get past those too?" Sin asked, raising an eyebrow as Lily looked triumphant.

"Three heads are going to be better than two for this," the brunette beamed, high-fiving the bespectacled hacker.

"I've handled worse than a few cell doors before," Felicity boasted, cracking her knuckles.

"I can take you there," Diggle spoke up, checking his gun's magazine and sliding it back into his gun. "You always need a getaway car, right?"

Sin smirked as she checked her sword and sais. "We need to get moving though, the League of Assassins isn't really known for their patience."

"Oh, okay," Felicity piped up nervously, her fingers furiously clicking away at her keyboard. "The encryption on the League's HQ is going to take a little while to break, but by the time you get there, you should be good to go."

"Yeah, if anyone can handle this kind encryption, we can!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her arms around the blonde and Ray, a confident smile on her face.

Sin nodded, her appreciation for the rest of the team spreading all over her features and she stepped forward as if to say something, or give the brunette a hug, but she seemed to remember that she was an ex-assassin and stepped backwards.

"Let's go," Diggle took charge and led Sin out of Palmer Technologies and into the beat-up silver van.

After driving at a breakneck speed for nearly twenty minutes, the van screeched to a stop in front of an abandoned warehouse. The sun had dipped under the horizon roughly an hour ago and plunged the entire city into an inky darkness.

"You can wait here," Sin mumbled, jumping to the ground from the passenger seat, grabbing her katana and unfurling it.

"No way," Dig scoffed also getting out of the car. "I thought you said you needed back-up?"

"Right," Sin sighed,  looking at the warehouse.  "Well, let's go. Felicity should have broken through the encryption and cut the electricity to the locks. Nyssa will be waiting for us on the inside."

Diggle nodded, and the duo moved inside the building but found it surprisingly empty. They crept along the dark hallways, their weapons at the ready. Their breaths became shallow as they reached the door Sin knew led to the cell room. She looked at Di ass if to say,  _now or never,_ and the two kicked open the door.

Sin immediately put her fingers to her lips when the duo entered the small hallway. The corridor was empty except for the four prisoners. She ran over to Laurel's cell and pulled her old lock-picking kit from her sleeve while Diggle stood guard at the door. She inserted the metal tool into the small lock, but a shock reverberated throughout the room and Sin dropped the tool with a soft scream. Thankfully, she had managed to drop the tool so quickly. that the shock wasn't to the same caliber Laurel had been burned by.

Roy slammed the bars at the front of his cell. "Sin!"

Diggle and Oliver looked at the young vigilante with identical expressions of shock and irritation on their faces. Everyone tilted their heads to listen for any noises from the floors above that might have indicated that the assassins knew that the prison break was happening.

They evidently had heard, as a bang echoed in the corridor and nearly two dozen assassins flooded the corridor as Felicity's voice rang in Diggle's ear. "Sorry for the wait, locks are down." He quickly nodded at Sini and the still locked doors.

She dove back at Laurel's cell door, quickly picking the lock and flinging the door open. "You can pick a lock, right?" Sin asked, and Laurel nodded, moving on to Oliver's cell. "Cover me!" Sin shouted to Diggle, who was already shooting at assassins who were funneled at the entrance of the hallway.

Cheshire swung her katana at an assassin and sliced a deep cut in his torso from neck to navel--not enough to kill, but deep enough so that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. She spun on her heels and parried strikes from five different assassins at once. Kicking one assassin into another, she started towards the door and pulled out her sai to duel-wield with her sword. Her League training kicked in and she became a blur of steel, green fabric, and dark hair.

Even in the craze of the fight, Sin was able to catch glimpses of her friends fighting the assassins. Oliver and Laurel were shoulder-to-shoulder, the former covering Laurel's hurt arm with his own body. Roy seemed to be in intense pain as evidenced by the blood running from his leg, torso, and trickling from the back of his head. In addition to battling nearly half of the assassins, Roy was shielding Thea, who was barely holding her own against two assassins. Diggle had thrown away his gun and was punching anyone who got in an arm's length, nearly clipping a dark-haired woman who shot him a nasty glare and kicked an assassin in the knee.

Nyssa had joined the fight.

Sin spun and came face-to-face with an un-masked Rattlesnake. Her dark eyes hardened, pulling the sai level with her head and pointing the katana at her uncle. He drew two swords and sliced them diagonally towards her throat. She caught the swords on the hilt of her sai and stabbed Rattlesnake's leg with her sword. He retaliated by using both swords to cut parallel gashes on both her arms. Her eyes narrowed, and she became focused on her fight with Rattlesnake that the rest of the battle became a blur outside her vision. Sin was able to wound her uncle a few more times but Rattlesnake seemed to feed off her hatred for him and his dual swords soon overcame her shorter sai, knocking it out of her hand. Rattlesnake slammed her stomach with the hilts of her swords, knocking her down and slicing the top of her knee. The swords slammed down towards her head, but she rolled to the side and scrambled to her feet.

"Come on!" Oliver shouted as he rushed past, half-dragging half-carrying Laurel. The blonde assassin was barely conscious due to the addition of a large bruise on her temple.

Sin quickly parried her uncle's next few attacks and followed Roy and Thea out of the warehouse, limping all the way. She saw Nyssa out of the corner of her eye, walking backwards and fending off any assassins who tried to follow them. Sin quickly turned and threw a few throwing stars to hold off any of their pursuers.

Diggle jumped in the driver's seat of the van and started the engine. Oliver gently laid Laurel on the seats in the back and pulled her head onto his lap, absentmindedly stroking her hair. Thea sat down across from her brother and pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her head on top of her knees. Nyssa had pulled out her bow, climbed to the roof of the van, and was shooting down any assassins who came out the door.

"Where's Roy?" Sin asked worriedly, looking around for her friend. As she was scanning the ground, she noticed an unmoving lump a few feet from the van was parked. "Wait for me!" She shouted, jumping out of the back of the van.

"Sin?" A week voice called from the lump.

The dark-haired girl grunted as she pulled an arm over her shoulder and started to drag Roy Harper back to the van. Oliver grabbed his protege under the arms and hauled him into the backseat as Sin pulled herself up inside.

"Drive!" Oliver and Sin--the only two alert people in the back of the van--shouted in unison and Diggle slammed on the gas.

A thump shook the roof of the van as Nyssa was knocked off her feet.  _She'll be okay,_ Sin thought, trying to see some good in the situation.  _She's the daughter of Ra's al Ghoul, a little thing like a moving van won't kill her._ Just as the thought had left her mind, the window rolled down and the assassin swung into the seat next to Thea.

"Where are we headed?" Nyssa asked coolly, staring at each of the vigilantes in turn.

"Are you sure we should be showing an  _assassin_ where our headquarters is?" Diggle asked from the front of the van.

"She just saved all of us from the League, I think we could cut her a break," Sin snapped.

"Besides, my father is going to send assassins after me for betraying him," Nyssa said, checking over her sword and bow. "It would be best if I were to leave Starling as soon as possible. I've been meaning to visit my sister in the mountains and now seems like as good a time as any."

"Are you sure?" Sin asked, her voice shaking almost imperceptibly. "I'm sure the team could hide you in one of their safe houses or..."

"I have to leave. There's no way to stay here and keep you all safe. I'm sorry." With that apology, Nyssa swung out the window and disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a bit more plot- and action-heavy, also here is the payoff to the Raily hints, because I had to add them in because adore that pairing!
> 
> As always, thanks to everyone who has left kudos or comments, I appreciate all of them and please feel free to leave some more!! Thanks also to everyone who has stuck with this weird pairing of characters who have not been on the show for a bit.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and Sin have to deal with the consequences of the breakout. There is a personnel shake-up on Team Arrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the last, actual chapter of this story!! There's an epilogue that is coming, but thanks to anyone who has made it this far.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Arrow or DC.
> 
> I want to keep this A/N short and sweet...
> 
> Enjoy!

The dented van pulled up to the back entrance of Verdant next to Ray Palmer's silver sports car. Ray, Felicity, and even Lily rushed out the door to help Oliver and Sin carry Laurel and Roy into the underground headquarters.

"What is she still doing here?" Thea cried, pointing to Sin who had grabbed the first-aid kit and was moving towards Roy Harper. "She turned us in! Why are we letting her into our HQ? For all we know, she could still be communicating with the League!"

"That makes sense, since I just  _risked my life_ to help you escape," sin scoffed, turning to face Thea. "But believe whatever you want, just let me stay here long enough to make sure Roy wakes up. After that...kill me, throw me back to the League, I don't care."

Oliver and Diggle looked at each other, before nodding at Sin in unison. "You did save our lives," Oliver conceded, a small smile breaking through his harsh facade.

The young woman's face became the picture of relief and she sprinted over to Roy. She started combing his hair with one of her hands while the other started dabbing away the blood on his face. Sin opened the first-aid kit and started methodically cleaning his wounds, beginning with the scratches of the side of his face.  _Focus,_ she told herself, mentally steadying her hands as she stitched the cut on his arm back together and wrapped it in gauze.

"Move," Thea said harshly, elbowing Sin off of her stool and taking her place. "He  _is_ still my boyfriend and I should be the one helping him."

Sin's eyes hardened as she glared at the younger Queen. "You're his girlfriend? I saw you cheating on Roy the other day, but you're still going to deceive him into thinking you love him!"

"And you think that he's going to love you? The assassin who betrayed him and almost got him killed!" Thea spat venomously, glancing at Sin with the upmost level of disgust on her face. "Why are you even trying to help him anyways? You're just going to hand us back over to your League."

"Because I would love to go back to my uncle who just beat me up," Sin retorted, standing up to be level with Thea and showing her the deep cuts in her forearms.

"Oh please, you were probably just faking that fight to try and convince us that you were on our side!" Thea shouted, taking a step forward and starting to invade Sin's space.

"Thea!" Oliver intervened, storming over to the two young women.

"What?" His sister cried, throwing her hands in the air. "It's not like you weren't thinking it too!"

"Upstairs. Now," Oliver growled, marching up the stairs but not before looking back at Laurel, who had been palely watching the whole confrontation from the back of the room.

Once Thea had shot her one last dirty look and disappeared up the stairs, Sin slumped back into her chair. She dropped her head into her hands and let out a sight.  _I can't believe I'm going to lose everyone I care about...everyone I_ know  _in one day._

"You okay?" A soft voice came from behind her. Laurel had managed to move from her own sickbed over to where Sin was sitting.

"Nope," Sin said bluntly.

"What you did tonight was incredibly brave and you shouldn't let Thea diminish your actions," the blonde argued gently, rubbing the younger woman's back comfortingly. "Sara would be proud to see how much you've grown up in the past few months."

"Would she?" She bit out harshly. "Would she be proud that I got jealous and decided to turn my old friends into the League of Assassins? Would she be proud that I put all of your lives in jeopardy just by being here?"

"I think so," Laurel continued. her voice even and calm. "Tonight, you showed us that you had the courage to admit you were wrong. And even when you turned us in, you only did so because someone had pushed you past your breaking point. You made that decision with your heart, something most members of the League couldn't do."

"But I still did it!" Sin cried, her voice breaking. Her features seemed hard and measured, but her eyes betrayed her worries.

"You did it because heartbreak. And  _that_ means you have the capacity to love," Laurel explained, her eyes lighting up. "Sin, you kept your promise to Roy...you never let the League of Assassins change you."

* * *

Oliver turned to her sister, studying her face with an interested air. His scowl never wavered but his thoughts were so scrambled he was surprised he could still think straight. “Thea,” he started, but broke off when his sister looked at him like a three-year-old in trouble.

“You know I’m right,” she said smugly, crossing her arms. “You don’t know if we can trust Sin or not. Her _uncle_ is the leader of these assassins. She’s probably his second-in-command!”

“We don’t know that,” Oliver said evenly. “I’m more concerned with your performance tonight during the escape. You let your fear rule your actions and Roy had to spend half of his energy covering for you. It’s what got him hurt so badly.” He took a deep breath, as if he had just come to a monumental decision. “I’m not sure if you’re ready to be out on the streets just yet. If we’re going to be tracking down the League, I need to be sure that the people on my team are strong enough to go up against these assassins...and people who know how the League of Assassins works.”

“You’re replacing me with _Sin_!” Thea exclaimed, outraged, her blue eyes blazing. “You trust an assassin over your own sister!”

“Sin just spent four months with the League--she knows how they move, train, and fight better than all of us put together,” Oliver retorted, his voice rising. “Plus, Laurel trusts her, and I trust her judgement. I’m not budging on this Speedy!”

Thea rolled her eyes at his proclamation, making a small noise of disgust as she did so.

“Whenever you’re ready to go out on the streets again," Oliver bargained, "I won’t stop you. This is just too dangerous and bringing you along would just be an unnecessary risk.”

Thea huffed and started to stomp out the front door. “So, I’m wait-listed for the team, below an assassin, that sounds just like you.”

“ _Thea Queen_ ,” Oliver sighed, but she had already left Verdant. He sat down at the bar, his head in his hands, and before long soft hands started to rub the tension from between his shoulder blades.

“You okay?” Laurel asked, moving to sit next to him, one hand never leaving his shoulder.

“Fine," the billionaire looked up defeated. "How’s your head? I should have stopped him from getting that close to your bad side.”

“It’s not your fault Ollie; I was the one who should have been paying more attention,” she paused as if deciding what to say next, and then turned to look at him. “Thea sounded really upset. I could hear her from downstairs, it didn’t sound like she took Sin’s being here very well.”

“Not at all.”

“She’ll come around once she has some time to cool down. There are going to be some hard decisions in this life you picked for yourself and not everyone is going to be happy with the outcome, but you have to do what you feel keeps as many people _alive_ as you can.”

Oliver looked at her with an unreadable expression. He was looking at her without his usual scowl or grimace, but with an openness that Laurel hadn’t seen on his face in many years.

“Do you want to go get drinks tomorrow night?” He asked suddenly.

Laurel stared at him with surprise in her eyes, but a grin slowly spread over her face. “Sure. I’d really like that.”

Before either one of them could say anything more Ray and Lily Stein came up the stairs, hand-in-hand and whispering to one another.

“Oh, hi guys!” Lily said, waving to them. “Ray and I were just going to head home, it’s getting pretty late for us. Roy’s still out, but Sin doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”

“Felicity left with Dig,” Ray continued, almost in the same breath as Lily had ended her sentence. “He mentioned something about how Layla might lock him out again if he came back after midnight.”

“See you,” Laurel waved, standing up with as little groaning as she could manage. “I’m going to crash soon too.”

“Let me drive you home,” Oliver offered as Ray and Lily shot each other knowing glances.

“Fine,” She said gratefully. “But don’t get any ideas Mr. Queen.”

Oliver smiled widely and extended his arm, which she gladly took as her injuries had sapped most of her energy. He gingerly led her out the door of Verdant and into the lone car in the parking lot.

* * *

Sin’s dark hair was irritating her as it kept falling in front of her face when she bent over Roy’s unconscious form. She had to pull her hands away from holding Roy’s to brush it out of her eyes every few seconds. It was nearing three in the morning, three days later, and she had barely moved from her current position. Occasionally, Felicity or Laurel would take her place to let her sleep or have something small to eat but Sin always ran back to his side as fast as she could manage.

_Roy Harper will not die because of me._ She had every variation of the phrase on a continuous loop in her mind. _Roy Harper’s death will not be my fault. It can’t be…_

The young vigilante let out a groan so soft that for a second Sin thought she had imagined it, but when a second groan came--louder than the last--she looked at him with an expectant expression.

A smirk adorned her lips when his eyes fluttered open and focused in on her dark ones. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” she said softly.

Roy laughed weakly and slowly began to sit up. “That was my only nickname for you, and you took that from me now too. How many does that mean I have now?”

“Four,” Sin stated matter-of-factly, smiling brightly at her old friend. “Although I’m sure you have some nicknames for me that I wouldn’t like after that stunt I pulled with the League of Assassins.”

The minute she mentioned the League, she regretted it, because his face twisted into a mask of anger and he yanked his hand from hers.

“Why are you here?” He shouted, struggling to sit up. “Oliver would never…”

“I would, actually,” Oliver said, coming down the steps with the rest of Team Arrow. They had clearly all been listening at the top of the stairs or on the security cameras to know when to make their entrance.

“Sin saved us all from certain death in the League’s captivity,” Laurel started.

“And she gave us an eighty-percent-chance of dying while we tried to escape!” Roy interrupted, advancing on Sin with his fists raised.

“Look!” Sin cried, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “I said that I only wanted to stay until Abercrombie here woke up, and I’ll leave if you want me too, no questions asked. I’ll keep that promise,” she looked right at Roy, a challenge in her expression and her eyes filling with fire. “No matter what.”

The younger archer glared at Sin as he passed her to talk with the rest of the team.

Sin tried not to listen to the conversation, but she was able to catch snippets—mostly from Roy. “Can’t trust her,” “assassin,” “should be gone,” and the worst one of them all: “she should be killed.”

Without a word and her cheeks burning in shame, she threw her blood-crusted sai on the metal table with a harsh clank next to her Cheshire mask, before turning on her heel and walking up the stairs.

* * *

"We’re not killers,” Oliver admonished harshly as everyone turned to Roy.

“She stayed with you for three days with barely any rest,” Felicity piped up, looking at Roy in disbelief. “We had to force her to eat and sleep, but she never wavered. She really cares about you.”

“And I don’t think you’re really willing to kill her,” Ray continued, nodding to the way he had watched Sin leave Verdant.

“Fine,” Roy admitted. “So, I might care about her a little bit.”

“I’d say more than a little bit, judging by your reaction when she was shocked at the warehouse.”

Roy shot Ray Palmer a look but kept his mouth shut.

“I’m getting better at tracking her,” Felicity interjected. “If that’s what you want.”

“Roy,” Diggle started before he could reply. “Sin wanted me to stay in the van that night we rescued you. She knew that she was outmatched but she didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. Before Layla and I were dating, she didn’t like me that much; I was reckless and always saying the wrong thing whenever she would get upset with me. I had a bit of a temper too, so I always ended up frustrated with the situation and took it out on her."

“Sound like anyone you know?” Oliver quipped dryly.

Roy’s whole body sagged, and his face fell. “What did you do? To make it up to Layla?”

“I apologized and I told her the truth," Dig responded. "That I was actually mad with the way I couldn’t tell her how I felt about her, and so when the words got stuck, I got upset and my temper flared.”

Roy leaned against the counter, his head hanging shamefully. He was looking at the bandages on his arms as if he had never seen gauze before. “She did this?” He asked quietly, still without looking at his team.

“And so much more,” Laurel replied, gesturing to the faded stitches on his cheek.

“I love her, don’t I?” Roy asked, as if he was asking his teammates to validate his feelings.

Laurel glanced at Oliver for a split second before crouching down to meet Roy’s eyes, which were still downcast. “I can’t tell you what you feel…but I know that she loves you.”

He nodded as if he was expecting this answer and immediately got to his feet, grabbing her mask and sai. “Felicity…” He started, but the blonde was already typing furiously on one computer.

“On it!”

By the time Oliver had briefed him on the ongoing mission to find Sin’s uncle and the rest of the assassins who had escaped, Laurel and Lily Stein had forced a proper meal down his throat, Diggle and Ray Palmer had given the lecture on responsibility and how not to screw up again, the sun was long gone, and Felicity had to relocate Sin.

“Good luck,” Oliver said, squeezing his protege's shoulder as the latter walked out the door.

* * *

Sin sat on a rooftop in the Glades, back in her ripped jeans and leather jacket, her hair finally cut to its normal length. She had gotten so fed up that earlier that day, she had taken one of her knives and hacked most of it off herself.

She heard footsteps behind her and gripped the small sai hidden in her sleeve--her other hand went to her other sleeve for the weapon's twin, but Sin remembered throwing it down on the table in Verdant's basement.  _Surprised it took Rattlesnake this long to find me,_ she thought, tensing her shoulders and preparing herself for a fight.

The footsteps had stopped directly behind her.

Taking a deep breath, Sin rolled backwards, pulled the sai from her sleeve, kicked the person's feet out from under them, and pointed her sai at their throat. "Roy?" She asked, confused, but she quickly lowered her weapon.

"He Sin," her friend groaned, slowly sitting up.

"Jesus, Abercrombie," Sin sighed with a tight smile, "I thought you knew better than to sneak up on me."

"Lesson learned," Roy grinned, the two sitting on the edge of the roof side-by-side. "Missing something?"

"Thanks," she said, gingerly taking the outstretched sai. She tried to ignore the blood on the blade, but failed miserably. "Here to kill me?" She asked defiantly, but her face paled considerably, making the few freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks stand out.

"If I was, why would I be sitting here?" Roy challenged, his voice starting to rise, but he quickly reeled in his tone, composing himself once more. "Actually, the opposite...Oliver wants you to join the team. He says he wants someone who knows how the League of Assassins works." he extended her Cheshire mask, but she merely eyed it warily.

"Not a bad plan," Sin remarked, leaning back on her hands and hoping the cold gravel could ground her racing heart. "But I would be a danger to everyone on the team, even to people like Felicity and Lily."

"We've talked about it," Roy interjected, putting his hand on top of hers.

Sin's breath caught in her throat, but she forced herself not to react in any overt way.

"Everyone's willing to take that risk," he continued. "Laurel looked ready to breathe fire when Diggle mentioned that you might be a liability. After all, we aren't completely sure what you can do."

Sin laughed quietly at the image of the prim, put-together, lawyer staring down rugged, ex-soldier John Diggle.

"Besides," Roy added quietly, "it would be easier to protect you from the League if you went on patrols with m--us every night."

"I don't need yours, or anyone's, protection," Sin said forcefully, turning too look at Roy's eyes.  _Have they always been this light a blue?_ The thought came to her head unbidden, but refused to leave as long as she was staring at them.

"Sin, I care about you too much to let you out of my sight, until your uncle and the rest of the assassins are behind bars or..." He trailed off as Sin shook her head vehemently.

"You do  _not_ need to kill for me or anyone else again, okay? I've seen what it does to you and it ain't pretty," she chuckled lightly, relieved when Roy let out a laugh and nodded. Sin looked down for a moment, before taking the mask from him. "You know what Abercrombie, I'll join your team on one condition."

"Yeah," Roy quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "And what's that?"

"You kiss me." Sin prayed silently, to anyone she thought was listening, that he felt the same way she hoped he did, and she hadn't just misread every conversation they'd had.

"Gladly," he whispered, unable to contain his light tone. He cupped her pale cheek with one hand and pressed his lips against hers.

It was like hundreds of volts of electricity had been shot through Sin's body. Her fingers tingled and the places where his hands touched her skin seemed to have spontaneously combusted. She felt her hands moving to hook themselves around his neck and she did nothing to stop them. When the two finally broke away, Sin knew she was blushing horribly and breathing a little more shallowly than normal.

"Took us long enough," Roy muttered, also slightly out of breath as he gently leaned his forehead against hers.

Sin laughed and closed her eyes, savoring the memory of the kiss. "one other condition though--I'm going to need a new mask, because, frankly, I hate this one."

Roy's laugh was deep and he nodded quickly, kissing her on the cheek. "I think that can be arranged. Welcome to Team Arrow, Cheshire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, they kiss!!!!! This was the slowest of slow burns, so sorry not sorry : )
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this story and like I said up top, there is still one more epilogue chapter to go. As always, I appreciate all the kudos and comments more than you know!!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	14. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A double date taking down assassins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day!! Thanks to everyone who has read this far, I really hope you enjoy this (kind of fluffy) epilogue.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything remotely related to Arrow or DC comics.
> 
> Enjoy!!

Cheshire waited once more on the rooftop of Palmer Technologies, her dark green tunic drying from the earlier rain. She was glad to be free of the suffocating full-face mask, grateful for the dark red covering Ray Palmer had replaced it with. It clung to the back of her skull, covering all of her hair and forehead, with small openings for her to see out of, in a similar cut to the Arrow's and Black Canary's masks. Sin wanted to keep her Cheshire persona, so Ray added white stripes that pointed towards the center of her face, reminding her of a cat's markings. Her black leather leggings were surprisingly flexible and were tucked into knee-high boots, which each held an extra knife. With the addition of the katana folded up at her belt, the twin sais tucked into her forearm holsters, and pouches of throwing stars and smoke bombs, she was a metal detector's walking nightmare.

 _Arsenal, Cheshire,_ Oliver's voice filtered in through her earpiece.  _There's a pair of assassins making their way across the rooftops only a few blocks from you guys. Lau--Black Canary and I will make our way to cut off their escape route. Dig, keep an eye out for any more in the area._

"Copy," several voices confirmed the orders in unison.

Sin practically flew across the rooftops, perfectly in time with her red-clad vigilante boyfriend beside her. They quickly caught up to the assassins, who turned to face them, drawing their weapons as they did so.

Roy's grip tightened around his bow and he quickly nocked arrow, pulling the bowstring taut.

"Hello,  _uncle,_ " Cheshire sneered, snapping open her katana.

"Cheshire," Rattlesnake returned smoothly. "Such a pleasant surprise."

"Please, I doubt that. But I am so glad I'm going to be the one to bring you down," she grinned threateningly as she lunged at her uncle, her katana meeting his sword.

Her anger surged so powerfully that she soon had him in a corner, their swords locked together. With a cry, she pulled her katana upwards and banged the side of his head with the flat of the blade, but he simply grabbed the hilt and wrenched it out of her hands. Cheshire quickly drew her sais, hitting the hilt of each of his swords in turn, knocking them from his grip. She swung onto his shoulders and spring-boarded forward, pushing her feet into his chest and knocking him backwards. She hit the ground hard, but when she stood, she saw her uncle unconscious at her feet.

Another unconscious body fell next to Rattlesnake's, and Arsenal put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. A few arrows stuck out of the assassin's armor, but Arsenal barely had a scratch on him.

Before they could relax any more, three more assassins emerged from the darkness and the vigilantes quickly separated. The assassins swiftly knocked their weapons from the duo's hands, one pressing his sword against Sin's throat while another knocked Roy onto the gravel roof. The third was starting to speak into his earpiece too softly for either of the vigilantes to hear.

Cheshire locked eyes with Roy, who nodded (or as much as he could from the ground).

In an instant, Cheshire had pulled throwing stars from her belt and launched them at the two assassins not holding her captive. Arsenal took care of that one, jumping to his feet and punching the man full in the face.

"Hands off my girlfriend," he growled, putting his arm back around Sin, a smile dancing across her features.

"Wow," the Arrow said, as he and Black Canary arrived on the rooftop. "Good job you two."

Laurel smiled at Sin and Roy's embrace, but quickly knelt to handcuff the assassins. "What are we going to do with them? My dad could put them in jail but..."

"There aren't any charges against them," Oliver finished. This time, it was Roy and Sin's turn to exchange knowing looks as they saw the way the couple seemed to know what the other was thinking.

 _If you guys need any help,_ Diggle said through the earpieces.  _I'm sure Layla would be willing to take them to Amanda Waller at A.R.G.U.S._

 _Yeah, a quick facial recognition scan shows that...Rattlesnake, Keith Terrin, is wanted in over ten countries for various charges, but not in the U.S.,_ Felicity reported.

Sin tensed at the mention of her uncle's name and she stared contemptuously at his unmoving form. "That doesn't surprise me," she growled, her hands balling into fists. Roy just pulled her closer, seemingly relaxing her for a few moments.

 _Bad news though,_ the tech genius continued, her tone flat and disappointed.  _A.R.G.U.S. can't send anyone to pick them up for hours._

"So, we'll drag them to Verdant, stash them in the back room, and wait for the A.R.G.U.S. agents to come," Oliver decided, slinging Rattlesnake over his shoulder.

"And we should probably blindfold them, just in case they do wake up," Laurel suggested, almost nervously.

"Great idea, Laur," Oliver praised warmly, his face lighting up, the use of the nickname surprising nearly everyone else on the roof.

"Why are they still not together?" Sin whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Roy.

"I don't know," he replied quietly, reluctantly releasing his girlfriend so he could help her move the other assassins down the stairs and into Diggle's ever-waiting silver van. "But, if they don't officially get together soon, I'll lock them somewhere together until they do."

Sin smirked, sheathing both her sais and her katana, sliding in to sit next to Laurel.

"Good intel Sin," the Black Canary said, "I still can't believe they haven't realized Felicity hacked their comm frequency yet."

"Glad to be of service," she waved away the older woman's thanks and stared down at her uncle.

Roy was staring at her with admiration written on every part of his face that wasn't covered by his mask, and Sin could also easily pick out the love in his eyes because she knew it mirrored the look in her own.  _I have a team now, one that actually respects and needs me._ Sin thought to herself.  _A boyfriend I love...who is a vigilante and I'm an ex-assassin. Who would've thought that could ever work in a million years. We're part of something that could actually do some good for this godforsaken city and I'm part of it._

Sin shook her head, and almost laughed at the absurdity of it all, but after glancing at her teammates and thinking of the ones they had left at Verdant, she couldn't think of anywhere else she was meant to be.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A hundred thousand thank yous to everyone who has taken the time to read this crazy fic. Years and years ago, this was born of me hating Thea Queen, shipping Roy Harper and Sin on Arrow, and Red Arrow and Cheshire on Young Justice, and wanting to mesh them together.
> 
> I'm really happy I finally got my act together and posted this finally!
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone reading and whoever left comments or kudos, I love you all!!

**Author's Note:**

> As always I welcome comments, reviews, kudos, etc.
> 
> I'll probably be posting a chapter every week, so be on the lookout!


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